A/n: Wow, this has got to be the farthest I've ever posted with someone still reviewing. Thank you so much, and don't worry. I always finish a story, even if it's a bad story… Well I'm glad to know that this one is good, thank you so much.
Disclaimer: I probably should've put this on chapter one, but I kept forgetting… but I remember now. If you haven't already figured it out: I don't own Link, Hyrule, Zelda, Navi, or anything else associated with the game Zelda. I put this on my profile, but copyright is a picky thing.
Well now that that's over, on with the story, and thank you so much for your comments, I can't tell you enough.
Chapter 8: The Rebirth
A strange man grumbled as he walked among the caves. He walked quickly and quietly through them as if he had every step memorized. After pulling out the strange stone he examined its eerie red glow.
"That was too close." He muttered to seemingly no one. "Yes, too close, but it took care of her. Yes, it did. It took care of them all, even that little boy in green. He is all grown now, all grown… now dead." The man smiled a sinister grin.
He stopped his walking when he noticed that the stone seemed to alight. There was a presence near them that made it react in an odd manner. The man looked around him until he noticed a strange pulsating glow from within the cracks of the rock walls. It was dark, yet shown as if it were light. Out of curiosity, the man pulled away some more of the rocks and beat on the crack until it gave way to a larger opening, just big enough for him to crawl through.
This cave had brought him nothing but fortune and the promise for more power urged him onward and through the crawlspace. He held the red stone out in front of him. Its ominous glow gave him the light he needed since the pulsating darkness did not allow him to see.
The tunnel he crawled through began to angle downwards. The man grasped the edges of the rock to keep from tumbling headfirst into the unknown. Another cracked surface appeared below him. This too he struck until it gave way, and the man slid down into a strange room surrounded by black walls, pulsing with the strange light. The man had come just in time to see the pedestal in the center of the room melt away, exposing a strange symbol that alighted and dispersed into four characters, which dissolved into the black walls. The darkness melted from the walls, what remained were tall mirrors on either side with the four characters glowing in them and a strange figure of a man on either side with a fairy floating above it. These figures shined a bright light and burst into many dark shards. They leapt from the mirrors and came together in the center where the symbol had once been. Slowly they pieced back together and formed the three-dimensional being that had once resided in the mirrors.
The man watched in wonder as the darkness soon gained color and became an all too familiar form. He gasped and stepped back in fear.
"You! It's you! The little boy in green that badgers me every time we meet. You, you can't have it! It's mine, I found it."
"I don't want it." Interrupted a deep and malevolent voice, coming from the new figure. It began to move its new limbs, ignoring the man. Another figure began to form from other dark shards. The shards floated in the air and the man and the figure watched it with curiosity. Soon a fairy came into being above them both.
"Curses!" Shouted the figure of darkness. "The man had a fairy. This stupid spell has to copy everything in the mirror doesn't it?" The newly created fairy explored its new surroundings.
"WOW! This place is awesome!!!" the fairy stated in an overly happy manner. It then flew over to the man. "Who are you?"
"S-sakon, sir…fairy…" the man said rather nervously. He turned to the dark figure. "Whu-What is going on here?" The dark figure looked up and smiled at Sakon. It could sense his greed.
"You, my friend, have just stumbled upon the utmost powerful being in or on this land." It said while it tugged on its gloves. Sakon then looked questionably at the fairy, curiously bumping in and around things. "Yes, and that, is unfortunately bound to me. You see, many years ago, several of my jealous associates locked me here. They feared my power, as they should have. I simply didn't expect them to turn against me. They placed several spells that kept me and my powers bound, to keep me from reaching my full destructive potential. This irritating little creature is here because of one of the spells."
"You mean it is not broken yet?"
"No, I am trapped in this form until the blood line of the four that bound me is broken, and even then I am still threatened by the Key masters and… the guardian." He said turning to the statue. It remained immobile but something was slowly coming to life within it. "The spell is bringing him back now, but it will take a little while longer. He's been asleep for a millennia."
"And who are you?"
"I am the one who was here in the beginning, and I am the one who will create the end. Those who know me fear me. Those who fear me, call me Devoren."
"So I guess this means you don't have any friends, which obviously means no parties…" The dark fairy sighed. Devoren stared agitatedly at the fairy as his left eye slowly twitched.
"This is going to be maddening." Devoren said, his voice monotone. His attention then turned to Sakon. "We do not have much time before the guardian awakens and if you continue to stand there like an idiot, he will kill you. So, I will make a bargain with you. Provide me with a host so that I may leave these caves and you shall be rewarded with power beyond your wildest dreams."
Sakon marveled at the idea and was quick to respond.
"What kind of host would you need?"
"If we had more time I would ask you for one of the four deities' stones, but I'm afraid our time is short, and I doubt that you would have that, so I must—." He began to say, but Sakon produced a shining red stone and held it up to Devoren.
"Like this one?"
"Where did you get… oh never mind. Yes that will do. I will enter the stone and you must take me out of this room as fast as you can, and preferably out of the caves."
Sakon smiled as Devoren became a shiny mist and entered the stone. The black fairy did as well with slight protest. The smiling man then pranced out of the mirrored room, the symbols in the mirror then faded as they felt the presence of Devoren diminish. Possibly an hour later, and no less than that, the final symbol emerged from a keyhole that appeared where the pedestal had once been. It shined bright and wrapped itself around the statue in the back corner. Slowly the stone crumbled, the sword he held become metal, and his face turned to flesh and blood. The sword dropped from his now flexible hands. When the guard's knees became free of the stone he fell, unused to the functions of his own body.
After the guard's body returned to normal, he flexed his muscles that had been dormant for so long. He then picked up his sword and examined his surroundings. A smile crept across his face after he realized what had happened.
"So it has begun." He said with slight amusement. "The battle which will determine the fate of us all." With those last words lingering in his thoughts he left the caves, following the call of the sword… his destiny.
To face Devoren was not his first priority. There would be nothing that the guard could do to him now except hinder him. The guard was glad to leave the inner caves without encountering him. He knew that if Devoren was able to leave that pedestal, he wasn't alone. This was true, but his company was a mere trickster, a coward at heart.
Sakon had actually taken Devoren deeper into the caves, his hideaway. Devoren himself had slumbered in the crystal until he was sure that they were clear of his old bindings. He was then awakened by another presence, one he recognized as a dear old friend. With new devious plans in mind he arose from the red deity's stone and confronted Sakon.
"I shall give you your reward now. My promise was to give you ultimate power, was it not?" Sakon nodded vigorously. His greed kept his suspicion from arising. "Then I shall give it to you." Devoren said as he held out his hand, pointing one finger towards a long drop off. "Over there." Sakon pranced over there without any hesitation. Only when he saw what was over the ledge did he question the integrity of Devoren.
A beast arose from the abyss, a beast with two yellow eyes. It enveloped Sakon before he could run or even think. Sakon could only think to shout out to his mistaken benefactor.
"Curse you! What a man to go back on his word!"
"You curse me?" Devoren said with a laugh. "I am the embodiment of a curse, everything harmful, everything terrible, and everything corrupt, that is what I am. But how dare you to question my word, for dishonorable is not what I am, instead deceit. I will give you great powers beyond your wildest imagination, but what I will not give you is the power to control them." Devoren finished his speech to Sakon and turned his attention to the black beast that encased him. "Now my pet. Your master is free from his imprisonment, as you shall be. No longer will you be forced to wander these dark caves in your formless mass, feeding off of whatever wretched soul wanders here. This wicked soul shall be your puppet, your new skin. Hide yourself within him and together we shall leave these pitiable caves."
Sakon released one last shriek as the beast encased itself within him.
"Wow… this has got to be the biggest anchovy I have ever seen." The dark fairy said as she hovered over a puddle.
"…What?" Devoren snapped as he looked at the idiot fairy. "Never mind… I don't want to know…" Devoren buried his face in his hands.
The mine cart hurtled down the abyss. They all had given up screaming a long time ago and now they all only desperately tried to hold on. Something seemed to be lightly tapping one side of the cart and the passengers felt themselves falling at an angle. The cart began to level itself again, Naomi squeaked as her body was flung deeper into the cart from the inertia. She struggled unsuccessfully to right herself as she tried to keep her legs from hitting anyone.
Amy opened her eyes and was very thankful to see that they had landed safely on tracks, but at the same time she was puzzled and slightly alarmed by such dumb luck. Link too was baffled as to how they had landed safely on the rails after a fall like that, but at any rate, they were grateful to be alive. Aura poked her head out again and saw sunlight seeping in ahead of them. Arian righted Naomi just as Aura saw the one downside to finding the outside.
"The track is ending! Again!" She squeaked. Link reacted by pulling out his hook shot once more, but again was his reaction too slow, and they shot out of the tunnel, becoming airborne for the second time. This time the group didn't hesitate to scream as they saw themselves falling faster towards the rocky ground. They fell lower and farther, it now seemed that they were going to land in a small stream that ran across the dusty ground. And with a large splash, the water broke their fall. All vacated the mine cart and drug themselves onto the stream's bed. They lay there in slight shock and relief under the midday sun. It was silent until Aura realized something.
"It's still noon?"
"Yes… it is…" Naomi replied to Aura. She didn't seem to grasp what Aura was getting at.
"Well, I know it is, but I would've thought we spent longer in that cave. Possibly an hour or two, it should at least be three, but the sun's position is telling me that it's exactly noon now." Aura argued. Link looked up at the sun to confirm Aura's solar predictions.
"Maybe you had the wrong time when we went into the cave. And you never know. We could have gone through that whole ordeal in thirty minutes." Amy interrupted, but she too found this strange.
"Where are we any way?" Naomi chimed. Link stood and dusted off as much dirt as he could. As he examined their new surroundings his stomach dropped to his knees. He knew this place, but it was a vague memory. The house shaped like a giant music box, the giant stone castle, blocked off by large iron rods, it all seemed so familiar, and yet as if it had come out of dream. But Link knew that it was no dream, he also knew where they where.
"Ikana canyon…" Link said with a sigh. Aura and Arian seemed confused, but Naomi and Amy had heard of the place, though they had never been there.
"Then clock town should be just north of here, if my maps were correct…" Naomi thought aloud. Link became alarmed.
"You know of this place? Then you must have come through a portal to Hyrule." Naomi's eyes widened as she realized her mistake.
"No… maybe… I dunno…" She tried to recover, racking her brains for some sort of excuse. Nothing came to mind, but she knew that no matter what, she must not mention the pirates. If he knew about this place, then he had probably heard of the pirates' bad reputation as cutthroats. Much to her surprise, however, Link took on a different tone.
"You should have told me you lived in Clocktown, but tell me, how on earth did you get those metal doors back open?"
"They… rusted?"
"Wow, and to think, I had to get that stupid mask so some creepy man could open it for me." While Link reminisced and Navi circled his hat in confusion, Naomi heaved a sigh of relief. Soon after this, the group heard a rumbling in the sky. A storm was on its way, traveling from Snowhead.
"We'd better find some shelter from this storm, it looks bad." Arian said as he looked at the lighting in the distance. "Moving fast too."
"It's the worst storm I've seen in ages." Amy said. Link passed her a suspicious glance. "…Compared to the storms back home."
"Where do you live anyway?" Link queried.
"Like I'd tell you."
"Why not?"
"Mostly because I wouldn't want you to know where I live. I'd much prefer never to see you again."
"Actually I wanted to know so I could be sure and stay clear of the area."
Amy glared at Link evilly but Naomi stopped them before any more words could be said.
"Come on." She pleaded. "We need to find a place to stay, and possibly get some food. I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm starving."
"I think I have an idea of a place nearby. The little girl doesn't like me very much, but the old man was very interested in fairies… maybe we could get them to feed us." Link said as he looked at the music box. Amy and Arian looked to Naomi. She shrugged, so it was silently decided to follow Link towards the giant music box. Naomi winced as the off tune music began to play louder. This was not like the sweet tune that Lulu sang.
Link knocked on the door, remembering how the little girl had thrown him out last time, but much to his surprise, the door was quickly answered by and old man with a patch over one eye.
"Well aren't you a strapping young man! Say, could I get you to help me with something?" The old man asked. Link shrugged, rather startled by his forwardness.
"Haha, good, good, because I need you to go into the temple there, face the dreaded dragon, take the stone from there and use it to destroy millions of mummies that inhabit the caves below here."
Link's eye began to twitch. The old man laughed loudly.
"I am only kidding. I just need some help with these boxes. Say you wouldn't need shelter from the storm before you go to clock town, would you?"
"H-How did you know?"
"You shouldn't speak so loudly." The old man replied as he hobbled back into the house. "Come in, come in, make yourself useful."
Link and the others entered the old house, but not without flinching from the loud music. Many boxes were piled about the place, and a small kettle was set on the fire.
"I bought this place from a young man and his daughter a little while ago. They wanted to move to clock town. He said that this loud music kept away the mummies and such. I don't really know the technical term for all that hoopla, but I know I haven't seen anything of that sort around here." The old man explained. "So what brings you flying over the mountain and crashing into the creek here?"
"Uhhh…." Link looked to Arian with eyebrows raised. "It's kind of a long story…" He muttered. The old man nodded.
"Well, that's alright, you can tell me later when we've settled down and had some lunch!"
Naomi became excited by the promise of food. She began to salivate when the old man removed the lid from the large kettle and the aroma of rabbit meat simmering in basil and other herbs filled the air. Arian, Aura and Amy also savored the sweet smell of his stew. The old man lifted it up, struggling to get it off its hook. Link seized the pot when he feared the man might fall over. The hermit then pulled out several bowls from one of the boxes and put one in front of each of his guests as Link set the large kettle of soup on a hotplate atop the table. A spoon was soon set in the pot and they began to pour the hot soup into their bowls.
"Now then…" The old man said in the process of settling himself. "I will tell you of the best route to take on your journey back to Clock Town… I assume that is where you are headed?" Link quickly swallowed his soup to answer the question.
"Yes, you guessed right."
"Then you must take the rock stairs at the top of the ledge. When you leave here it will be to your right, a small rock pathway zigzags its way through the other little huts to it. Be careful on those stairs, they're slick little buggers."
Link widened his eyes at the concept of stairs.
"At the bottom," the old man continued. "You will see Ikana River. I'm afraid you will have to wade across a stone path that is just under the water's surface. The workers never got around to building a bridge. They scare far too easily and ran home when they heard some strange noises coming from Ikana castle." A thunderclap interrupted their conversation. The old man shook his head and re-gathered his thoughts. "When you walk from the old dock onto the grass, take the path to your right. Beware of those massive creatures that dwell underground. They tend to blow-up on contact. After them you will come to a complete drop off, since there is no one there to work the lift anymore, you will have to climb down. You will also have to climb over the gates that lie on the path directly to the south, and be mindful of those explosive little rodents."
"What?! Does everything here blow up?" Aura exclaimed as she set down her half-empty bowl. The old man laughed.
"No not everything…" He said with a laugh. Aura sighed with relief. "Most creatures here prefer to slice things that move, into tiny little pieces." Aura swallowed a large clump of her food whole, coughing when some of her meal attempted to block her windpipe. "But you should miss all of those things. Past the gates you should see clock town directly in front of you. And just to give you fair warning…" The old man leaned towards the group. "If you see a man running around, looking like he's insane… don't talk to him, he thinks he's part rabbit." The old man said. He made a motion indicating he thought that the man was crazy. Naomi smiled and nodded while the rest of the group was awkwardly still.
"Link…" Navi whispered in the Hylian's pointed ear. "This man's scary… he keeps looking at me…" Link held back a laugh and finished his soup. The day came to a close, as the storm grew stronger. The old man invited the group to make up their beds in his basement and he left them alone, going upstairs to possibly his own room. Link made his bed in one corner, and Amy made hers in the exact opposite. Link seemed surprised when he saw Arian making up his bed in the open. He remembered what Arian was to become and realized that the girls were completely unaware of his… problems.
Naomi and Aura took the corner near Amy while Arian had laid his bedding next to Link. Arian looked over his shoulder to see that all of the girls were out of earshot of a whisper and asked Link very quietly.
"Come with me upstairs."
Link nodded and Navi seemed to understand so the three of them began up the creaky stairs, not unnoticed.
"Where are you guys going?" Amy barked, calling Aura and Naomi's attention to them as well. Arian and Link froze to answer the question.
"I'm still a little hungry." Arian said as casually as he could with a shrug. Naomi cocked her head to the side, she was confused as to how he could still be hungry after so filling a meal, but the girls seemed to accept his response and the two continued upstairs without any more interruptions.
"I can talk to you upstairs, then we only have the old man to worry about and he won't be too hard to… avoid…" Arian said as they clambered back into the front dining hall, and realized that the old man was nowhere to be found. The boys looked around for him but he seemed to have left his own home. More thunder rumbled outside.
"He must have left." Navi said as she flew back to Link's hat.
"Then I'll tell you now. I'm going to hide out there." Arian said casually. Link looked out the window at the sheets of rain that came pouring down. Lighting struck the mountains in the background.
"You're going out in that?"
"I have to; I don't want to scare them, especially not now. You'll cover for me, right?" Arian asked as he placed a hand on Link's shoulder. Link couldn't answer, but sat there stunned. That he would consider risking his life in order not to 'scare' something as horrifying as Amy was a concept beyond him.
Link then came to his senses and decided to protest this idea of Arian's, but before he could, Arian said lightheartedly,
"I knew you wouldn't let me down." And he went out into the pouring rain, running away from the music box house to hide. Link sighed heavily and flinched as he heard the pounding of footsteps up the staircase. He turned angrily towards the stairs but when he saw Naomi's friendly face appear his attitude softened slightly.
"Where's Arian?" Naomi asked with a smile. Link looked around as he thought of what he could possibly say.
"He, uh… had to go to the bathroom." Link seemed slightly surprised that this pathetic excuse was the best he could come up with, but Naomi seemed to buy it.
"I suppose when you gotta go… you gotta go…" Naomi said with eyebrow cocked, staring out into the terrible storm. "But I don't think I could ever go in this kind of weather. Well, why don't both of you come down when he gets back? I just wanted to give you a head's up because right now, we were going to change our clothes, so give us a few minutes okay?"
"No problem." Link said with a sigh. Naomi glanced around the room one more time and then went back down stairs. Navi flew over to the window and then back to Link.
"Well Link, you're gonna be up here for quite a while. I don't think he's coming back for a long time." Navi said.
"Perfect…… Just… Perfect…" He mumbled.
Back downstairs, Amy, Aura, and Naomi had changed already. Naomi spoke up.
"Where are the guys?" Her voice was exasperated. Amy raised an eyebrow.
"Why would you care? Do you have some sort of… crush on one of them?" She made a disgusted face. Aura piped up.
"Yeah! It seems like Arian has taken a liking to you…"
"Eh… no." Naomi said. "I would worry about anyone out in this kind of weather." Aura nodded.
"That is true… I mean, how long can you take?" Amy rolled her eyes at Aura's statement.
"I bet it's some sort of diversion. They're probably going to leave us here to be killed or something!" The room grew silent after Amy's comment. Aura looked at her.
"…Killed by who? The old man?" Naomi laughed at that. But Amy's face was serious.
"You never know with people like… him." She hissed the last part, just as Link came walking down the stairs. Naomi's face brightened.
"Finally! What took you…so….. Where's Arian?" She questioned, not seeing his familiar face. Link cringed visibly.
"He's… Having stomach problems." He raised his eyebrows in false concern. "I wouldn't be surprised if he was out there all night!" Naomi gasped.
"Are you sure? How could….. Is this just some sort of guy thing?" She looked to Link.
"…For him, yes." Link muttered.
"That's a lie!" Amy shot at him. "You're just covering for him!" Link grew nervous, afraid she was growing suspicious.
"Why… I bet he'll kill us in our sleep and then both of you will take all our money and run off with the old man!" She accused him. Link stared at her for a second, blinking.
"…Of course." He said while walking to his cot. After setting his supplies on the floor, he took off his boots and laid on the cot, his back turned to the rest of them.
"How can I be sure you aren't lying?" She hissed at him, not expecting an answer. "You can never trust a thief! Nobo-"
"Shut up. I'm trying to sleep." Link interrupted. Amy was about to speak up again, but after receiving a look from Aura she gave up and laid down on her cot.
"I suppose we should get some sleep too then." Aura said when she was sure Amy was finished speaking for the night. "Don't worry Naomi. He can take care of himself."
"I just don't like the idea of him running around at night in a foreign place during one of the worst storms I have ever seen. I mean, you heard what the old man said… and where is the old man?!"
"Naomi!" Aura silenced the panicking pirate. "If he was so stupid as to go out and recklessly endanger his life, then it is his own fault. Don't worry yourself over something you have no influence over. Just go to bed and we will find out where he is tomorrow." Naomi had nothing more to say and she too laid her head on the pillow. Aura looked around the room and went to sleep without a care. For some reason Arian's life didn't seem like a large cost to her right now. She fell asleep wondering why she simply didn't care. The eerie sense of déjà vu returned to her just as her consciousness faded.
A/n: Please R&R! I would really appreciate it.