The boy would go on to face many battles in his journey. This was not the first, nor was it the last.

He had no fear, rather, was too brainless to realize what it was.

But heroic he was. As the saying goes, only the good die young.

Link rolled past the first strike of the man's axe. It shattered the stone, sending shards in every direction. As he landed, the swordsman picked up a discarded blade and swung at his opponent, who spun and guarded with the broad side of his weapon. He pushed Link backwards out of the lock, who recovered with a backwards tumble, and a forward dash past the axe. Almost striking home with his weapon, Link was deflected by a quick side strike, and went plummeting off the side of the bridge. He gripped an indentation and swung himself around to the man's back. This time the axeman was unable to defend, and the sword penetrated his robe and back, pushing through the center of his chest.

Seeing this, Malon cheered, the tightness in her chest subsiding. Within moments it had returned. Rather than dropping to the ground and expiring, Link's opponent turned, sword still embedded in his chest, and stared directly at the young man, as if stunned at his audacity. Link was staggered from a moment, and failed to dodge the powerful strike from his enemy's left fist. It sent him across the viaduct, and he landed near Malon. She jumped to his aid. "Link! What's going on?!" The cross look he gave her reminded the girl that even if he knew, he lacked the ability to explain.

"Oh yeah. Well, you need to- GET UP!" Midsentence she realized the guardian was charging towards them. She pushed Link to his feet, who grabbed another blade on the way up. He put the edge out just as he met the axeman. The sheer force of the huge man's charge flipped Link over and slammed him into the stone floor. The man, now decorated with two swords in his torso, continued running for a few feet longer, coming dangerously close to Malon. He seemed to glare at her behind his mask, and then turned to face his opponent- who was only inches away from him, third sword at ready.

Before the axeman could swing his weapon, Link had leapt onto the handle. The man drew it above his head in surprise, and Link completed a full swing, flying into the air and landing upon the man's shoulders. The smaller swordsman lifted his blade and deftly sheathed it in the man's skull. It pierced at least two feet into his body. Link took a second to breathe; almost sure the man would continue fighting him. For a fleeting moment there was nothing.

And then the huge axeman dropped to one knee, Link still grasping the sword that had dug deeply into his cranium. Link looked at Malon, his eyes asking if the task was done. She nodded resolutely, and so the swordsman collapsed in a heap in front of the kneeling man. Malon rushed to his side, turning her companion over to see where he was hurt. She pulled off his tunic, and gasped, finding a huge purple-black bruise on the right side of his chest. It was more than likely made when the two collided.

A noise, like heavy breathing, came from the kneeling man. Malon drew back, fearing he was not yet defeated. He spoke in between labored breaths. "Please, no more. Take my life..." She gazed at his masked countenance fearfully. "But do not kill my son." He removed the mask, and for an instant, she saw a kind face, and old, dark, peaceful eyes.

The sky grew very dark. As the swirling of stormclouds blocked out the fleeting rays of the sun, Malon felt a deep evil sprout all around her. The light flurry of snowflakes turned into a slow rain of cinders. Malon instinctively clasped her hands together and backed away from the man. "I am defeated…" he began, "but the evil yet remains." The farmgirl bumped into something hard. She turned slowly, and found she was staring into the eyes of a Hylian Warden. They glowed from behind their sockets, and a steady stream of blood trickled down his cheeks. She screamed and rocketed backwards, again slamming into the axeman. Though he was her former enemy, anything was better than the abomination of a human that stood before her now. Link began to grunt, still incapacitated and disabled.

Suddenly the sizeable handle of the massive axe the guardian had wielded floated in front of Malon. She gazed upward to see the axeman standing over her, his calm eyes guiding her towards the hilt. "Take this axe."

She shook her head, and found tears welling in her eyes. "I… I c-can't! There's no way I'm strong enough…"

He nodded reassuringly. "Take it."

With a shaky grip, Malon put both petite hands around the grip of the axe. The man shifted his hands to clasp hers, and she felt warmth pour through her.

"Strength comes in many forms. If you find your arms are lacking, strike with your soul."

She shook her head. "What are you sayi-"

Looking up she realized the axeman had disappeared. Her gaze returned to her hands and Malon found she was lifting the colossal axe all by herself. The bloodied Hylian began to shuffle towards her. Malon slowly spun around, and found even the Wardens that had been dismembered were standing and hobbling towards her. They raised their blades and let out unearthly noises from their gaping maws. Above the dark bridge, the mask hovered silently, surveying the battleground with an unmoving smile.

Malon took a deep breath, bent her knees and shifted her hands, crossing them and holding the axe high above her head, blade lying against the sky, as she'd seen the axeman do. She stood protectively over her fallen comrade, whose breathing had stabilized.

"Alright." She was calm. Completely calm.

"No more running away."

The first Warden roared, and swung its blade.

"Not this time!"

END OF PART ONE

Dark here. What!? Another cliffhanger!? And the shortest chapter ever?!?!?! Don't be sad. The fight scene was only a chapter in of itself so I'd have time to perfect it. Chapter 6 is already in the works. And I've got a new character some of you readers had never expected to see.

I'd also like to note that so far I've been staying fairly true to Hyrulean geography (only making the world much larger- Hyrule is supposed to be a continent after all), so if you want, pull up a TP Map (Wii version since the GC version is mirrored, as the esteemed I.K.A Valian pointed out to me) and see if you can follow Link and Malon's journey.

Thanks for the kind reviews. Next part and chapter, comin' right up!