After resting, the travelers continued on their journey first thing in the morning. As they rode their pegasi across the sky, Ike uneasily looked down at the earth, trying to spot traces of Risen. He was a bit paranoid due to last night's event.
"We better be careful." Ike said to his friends. "The Risen might try to attack us again."
"Don't worry, they only come out during night." Link replied with a assuring look.
"How far are we from Mount Prism?" Roy asked.
Pit, who was flying next to Roy, pointed to a mountain with a clear waterfall rolling down its cliffs and a tiny rainbow glittering behind it. Roy looked closer at the mountains and saw an ancient temple sitting on one of its cliff.
"Not very far." Pit answered. "If we fly quickly enough, we can reach Mount Prism in a few minutes."
"Let's pick up the pace." Link added.
Obeying Link's order, the pegasi began to soar faster, increasing their pace. As he gradually went closer to Mount Prism, Marth began to sense an intriguing feeling. It was distant, yet warm and comforting like the presence of a loving family. He wanted to hurry. He wanted to rush into the welcoming arms of the presence and embrace it. He sensed that Mount Prism was a warm, welcoming place.
Ike on the other hand, suddenly felt uneasy and dreadfully worried. He sensed an oppressing feeling lurking in the air. What was it? Was it another bunch of Risen preparing to attack his friends again? No, it wasn't. Yes, the feeling did warn him, but it wasn't alerting him of a dangerous force. It was warning him to turn around and leave the area. Ike trespassed a sacred place, where only the most powerful men could enter. Ike was not a powerful man; he was a simple, common man.
As he and his friends flew upwards towards Mount Prism's cliffs, Ike suddenly felt light-headed. A tiny blender stirred the contents of his head with a loud buzz, making Ike feel nauseous. No, he was not allowed to come to Mount Prism. There was something wrong here! With a small groan, Ike buried his face into his pegasus's neck.
"Ike, are you ok?" Marth asked worriedly, looking at his friend. "Are you sick?"
"No, I'm not sick." Ike replied weakly, looking up. His face was pale with dread and his cobalt eyes lost its lively twinkle. "I just feel... That I shouldn't be here."
"Why?"
Before Ike even got the chance to part his lips and say anything, his eyes fluttered shut as he suddenly fainted. His limp body slowly slid off his pegasus' back and began to plummet towards the rock-hard ground. Ike's pegasus neighed loudly in alarm, alerting his friends that something disaster was happening.
"Ike!" Link exclaimed.
Pit and Roy covered their eyes with shaking hands.
Just as Link was about to dive down, Marth suddenly sped past him like an arrow. "I got him!" he quickly called.
"Please hurry!" Link whispered as he watched.
Grasping the rim of his pegasus' saddle, Marth gnashed his teeth as he dived his pegasus towards Ike. No, Ike couldn't go like this! He needed to discover the truth first! This was not the way it should end!
Whoosh! With a graceful swoop, Marth's pegasus managed to stoop down fast enough and catch Ike on its back in midair. Ike landed on Marth's lap. Marth "oofed" and clutch Ike tightly, so he would not fall off again.
"I got Ike!" Marth shouted as he returned to his friends.
"Good!" Link called back. "What happened?"
"I don't know!" Marth tried to explain. "Ike told me that he sensed that he didn't belong here and all of a sudden, he fainted!"
"Did he tell why he felt like that?" Roy asked.
"Well..." Marth began. He softly gasped when Ike stirred. "Ike's waking up!"
Ike groaned softly as he painstakingly opened his eyes and looked around. "What happened, guys?"
"Marth told me that you suddenly fainted." Link explained sternly. "He also mentioned that you feel that's welcomed here. Why is that?"
"I don't know." Ike simply answered. "I just felt that way."
"Everyone, we are close to the peak of Mount Prism!" Pit spoke up, pointed at the small cliff with the temple. "Let's go!"
"We'll talk about this later." Link quickly said to Ike, before taking off to the sky.
Putting Ike's dilemma away, the travelers continued their way up Mount Prism. When they finally reached the peak of the towering mountain, they carefully got off their pegasi and stepped onto the cliff.
Ike looked behind and was amazed by the view. He could see every inch of the forest, which were represented by bushes of green hues. The smaller mountains appeared as rocky spikes protruding from the ground. As he looked at the far distance, the hues began to vanish into the deep blue sky. However, he managed to spot Hyrule Castle Town in the distance by squinting.
"We're finally here..." Link said out loud.
Ike turned around and spotted an ancient temple looming over him and his friends. It casted a deep shadow over them. The temple was made completely out of a pale blue marble. It was slightly ruined, indicating that it was centuries old.
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Roy asked, about to enter the temple. "Let's go!"
Pit immediately grabbed Roy's hand, stopping him in his tracks. "No, Roy. Ike, Marth, and Link can enter, not us. They are the only ones allowed."
With a sad sigh, Roy nodded in understanding.
"Ike, Marth?" Link spoke calmly, gesturing to them to follow him."Let's go."
"Right." Marth replied.
Ike nodded in response.
Link led Ike and Marth into the temple. Inside, there were a few columns holding up the ceiling. Large windows let the clear, bright sunlight in, which lit the entire room. A few marble statutes of dragons, great kings, and divine gods were placed against the wall. In the center of the room was a clear spring.
Behind the spring was a sleeping green-haired girl seated in a throne. Her hair shared its hue from jade. Sitting on her head was a gold crown embodied with rare, sparkling jewels. She was garbed in a sleeveless red dress with a velvet, pink ribbon, a matching pink cape, and tall red boots.
At first sight, Ike assumed she was a Hylian due to her long, pointy ears. But his senses told him he was incorrect otherwise.
"Lady Tiki, I bring you visitors." Link spoke.
Tiki stirred as she slowly awoke. Rubbing the sleep out of her heavy eyes, yawned and glanced at the visitors. Her emerald eyes widened in awe as she suddenly recognized Marth. In excitement, her heart began to beat violently, erasing all traces of slumber from her soul.
"M...Mar-Mar?" she asked in disbelief, rising from her seat. "Is that really you?"
Marth began to feel uncomfortable as Tiki slowly went towards him. "Mar-Mar?" he asked in confusion. He suddenly felt nervous.
Tiki looked at Marth from head to toe. No... It couldn't be him! He passed away centuries ago! He couldn't be physically here! He was currently in another world!
Finally deciding that Marth was not a fragment of her dream, Tiki threw her arms around the bluenette and gave him a tight hug.
"Waagh!" Matth exclaimed in shock.
"Marth! You're back!" Tiki cried out, trying to hold back tears. "I knew that sooner or later, you'll return! I'm so happy that this isn't a dream!"
Marth tried to push Tiki away, yet Tiki's grasp was too tight. "I don't know you!" he said, grasping for air.
Ike stepped forward towards Marth and Tiki. "Hey, let go of him!"
With a frightened gasp, Tiki gazed up at Ike in fright and tightly clutched Marth. "Oh Marth! He's right there! Please, don't let him seal me away!"
"What are you talking about?" Ike bluntly asked. "I'm just trying to get you to release Marth!"
"Tiki!" Link shouted, grabbing Tiki's attention.
"Huh?" Tiki asked softly, her eyes filled with confusion. "What is it, Link?"
"These two people Ike and Marth aren't the people you known centuries ago!" Limk explained. "They don't know who are you and what happened during the Great War!"
"Oh..." With an unhappy look in her eyes, Tiki released Marth from her crushing embrace and sadly looked up at him. Lonely emerald orbs met confused azure orbs. "I'm sorry, I thought you were really him. I mean, you had his name and nearly looked exactly like him!"
"It's ok." Marth smiled warmly at Tiki, making her blush. "So, your name is Tiki?"
"Oh, I almost forgot to introduce myself." Tiki replied. "My name is Tiki. I am the Voice and daughter of the deity Naga, the leader of the Divine Dragons. Why are you three here?"
"We are here to ask you some questions about the past." Ike answered.
"Wait, hold on..." Tiki cautiously went closer to Ike and stared into his eyes.
"What's wrong?" Ike asked, feeling a bit uneasy.
"You have his eyes." Tiki abruptly stated. "However, they are filled with the will to protect, not vengefulness. I trust that you are not him."
"Wait, what do you mean?" Ike asked. "What is this?"
"I am sorry for confusing you." Tiki apologized sincerely. "What do you two what to ask me?"
"May you please tell us every detail about the Great War that occurred in Hyrule?" Marth asked, a bit stern. "We want to know what happened and those involved in it."
"Ah, the Great War." Tiki answered calmly. "Sit around the spring please."
While Ike and Marth sat down in front of the spring, Link stayed behind and sadly looked away.
"The Great War began when the ancient kingdom Altea went into conflict with their rival kingdom Crimea. The entire war dragged all of the neighboring tribe into it. They were forced to side with either kingdom. The war reached its climax when Altea and Crimea tried to claim the Triforce, a powerful treasure owned by the Hylians. They failed in their mission, and the war ended when..." Tiki sighed miserably at the depressing memory. "...When Prince Marth passed away due to a sudden illness."
"Can you tell us who was Prince Marth?" Ike asked. "How did he rule his kingdom? Why did his kingdom went to war against Crimea?"
Tiki frowned unhappily. "Prince Marth... Unlike his father, he ruled Altea with both his heart and mind, not with force. He was a kind-hearted person... I miss him dearly..." Tiki sniffed as she tried to blink away tears.
"Wait, this doesn't make any sense!" Marth spoke up, a bit confused. "If Marth was a kind ruler, then why did he start a war against Crimea? From what I heard, Altea and Crimea were fighting over land. Was it an act of dominance?"
"No, it wasn't. It was an act of peacekeeping." Tiki answered.
"Peacekeeping?" Ike and Marth looked at each other in confusion.
"The land Altea and Crimea tried to claim for themselves wasn't just any land." Tiki began to explain. "The land had an ancient alter, known as the Dragon's Table."
"What was special about the Dragon's Table?" Ike asked. "Did it have some sort of a power?"
"No, it didn't." Tiki answered solemnly. "It was where the Earth Dragons were sealed."
"Why did both Crimea and Altea want the Dragon's Table?" Marth asked. "Did they want the power of these Earth Dragons?"
"Yes, Crimea wanted the power of the Earth Dragons." Tiki answered. "If I remember correctly, their corrupted leader wanted their power to get revenge back at the Alteans. Upon hearing the news, Prince Marth was willing to do anything to prevent the destruction of his kingdom and the world."
"Destruction of the world? That escalated quickly." Ike commented. "So, the Earth Dragons can destroy the world?"
"Yes. Long ago, centuries before the Great War, the Earth Dragons allied with the Demons and attempted to conquer the world in darkness. The Demons were masterminds pulling the Earth Dragon's strings. The Earth Dragons kidnapped hundreds of men, women, and children and took them to the Dragon's Table, where they fed on their souls and turned them into Risen, soulless humans with a taste or violence and followers of the Earth Dragons. Luckily, ancient heroes joined hands and defeated the Demons and Earth Dragons. All of the Earth Dragons were sealed away in the Dragon's Table, while most of the Demons were slaughtered with the heroes' blades."
"Most?" Marth asked. "Not all of the Demons were killed?"
"Yes." Tiki looked down sadly. "Some managed to flee and vowed to revive their master Demise and the leader of the Earth Dragons Medeus."
"Are the Demons still around today?" Ike asked.
"I do not know." Tiki answered. "The reason for that is, after the surviving Demons fled, they were never seen again. There is no physical description of them. However, I sense that Demise is revived."
"How come?" Ike asked. "Is it because we entered Hyrule?"
"No, I sensed his return after the Great War." Tiki looked into the spring and blinked, trying to straighten things out. "I don't know how he was revived... But, I'm glad that Medeus didn't return... For now..."
"What do you mean, for now?" Marth asked.
Tiki's stern eyes glared sharply into Marth's eyes. "In order to release Medeus from his seal and return his powers to him, the embodiment of Prince Marth's soul must be offered to him at the Dragon's Temple. Medeus will consume Prince Marth's soul to renew himself."
"So?" Marth asked curiously, raising an eyebrow. "Is the reincarnation of Prince Marth somewhere in Hyrule?"
"Yes, he is." Tiki curtly answered. "Actually, I am looking at him now."
Author's Notes: DUN DUN DUN! Another evil cliffhanger!
I finally managed to finish this chapter. Sorry if there's too much dialogue in here. I couldn't describe a lot of things in this chapter. Hopefully, this chapter answered a lot of questions. In case if you're confused about the timeline, it is:
The heroes defeat the Earth Dragons and Demons The Great War Present.
Hopefully, that will help. ^^
As for my future stories, I decide to try to tackle both stories. Yes, I'm going to try to work on two fanfics at once. I opened another poll asking who should be the serial killer (Ike or Marth.) in the maybe-horror story, so please check it out!
Story Questions:
Do you think Ike is related to the Crimean leader who fought against Altea?
Sooner or later, Demise and his Demon followers will finally get their hands on Marth. Any suggestions on how?