The Waters of Nayru
Chapter 46: Heroes and Villains
By, Frank Hunter

Once they recovered from the sudden interruption, the Hylian soldiers were bolstered. They began cheering in a confident, clamorous wave that set Rigo's nerves on edge. He could see the Gerudo taking the opportunity to slink back into tighter groups, preparing for the battle to resume. Link, the Legendary Hero, was always first and foremost a Hylian champion. He was the one who consistently stopped the Gerudo King Ganondorf over the course of centuries. He was a bane on the Gerudo, and the primary reason for their failure and exile.

And he was staring straight at Rigo.

"Amili," Rigo said softly. "I'm going to draw his attention. When I do, you make for the gateway as quickly as possible."

"What are you talking about?" she asked, floundering. "You want me to leave you?!"

"You have to get to the Waters of Nayru. However important they were before, they're our only chance now. We can't win without them. I'll guard the Chalice from him."

Amili grimaced, but said nothing. She understood what had to be done. She collected her guards around her, and Rigo stepped forward a few paces to meet Link face-to-face, his sword in hand.

"I know why you've come," Rigo spoke to him. He didn't really know what he could, should say to the Hero, but he knew he had to say something. The Gerudo soldiers were terrified now, and it would be up to Rigo to show them that there was still hope. That their King stood strong, and that he could defy him. If there was ever a moment for Rigo to step up and become King in the eyes of his people, this was it.

"You think you can take it, don't you? You think you can take what we've fought so hard for?!"

Link said nothing, but reached over his shoulder for his sword. As he pulled it slowly from its scabbard, it erupted into a glow, a supernatural glean that emanated from it with the hum of true power. Rigo didn't need a second look to know that this was the Master Sword that had been missing from its Pedestal. This was where it had gone.

"Too long have you stood as an enemy against the Gerudo. Too long have you been the catalyst of our persecution." Rigo stood, as tall as he could, projecting his voice for all the people to hear. "Your bright little sword may have been enough to undo Ganondorf, but it will not stop us! You will oppress the Gerudo people no longer!"

He thrust his sword over his head in a gesture of defiance, and could see Amili's soldiers responding, reanimating at his energy. He wished he felt as confident as he sounded, but he forced himself on, knowing full well that this really meant something different. This would mean hope for the rest of them. But it would likely only mean the end for Rigo.

"So come on, Hero!" he yelled. "Try what you want. Because this, right here? This is where your legend ends!"

A collective shout erupted from the Gerudo, and in an instant, the battle was unfrozen. The soldiers came back together in conflict, invigorated now, fighting faster and stronger than before. Link was released from his place, and Master Sword at his side, charged at Rigo with all the speed he could muster. Rigo set his feet apart and got ready to make his stand.

What can you tell me about him? he asked Nabooru hastily, hoping. He knew the odds of getting some deep secret from her were slim, but it was worth the try.

You may have guessed this, but that's not the Hero of my time. Judging by his youth, he's also not the Hero of Zelda's time. If he's been reincarnated again, then I'm sorry, kid. I won't be much help. The mantle of the Hero stays the same through the ages, but the bearers are individuals. They change.

Rigo gritted his teeth. So no ideas on how he fought. Nothing to help. Fine. He'd have to figure it out the old fashioned way.

As Link closed on him and made his first stab with the Master Sword, Rigo ducked under it and gave the Legendary Hero a knee straight to his gut. It connected solidly, and as Link grunted and doubled over, Rigo swung his own blade at the back of his enemy's head. But Link was incredibly fast. He used his momentum to duck into a roll, and came up on Rigo's back side. Rigo spun and was able to block the next couple of attacks before the Hero withdrew for a breath. He was tough, yes, but he was Hylian, not a god. Rigo decided not to abandon all hope just yet.

They clashed swords, and Amili took advantage of the distraction as she had been instructed. She and her guards made off, back into the battle. Rigo wondered how long it would be before she could reach the other side. How long before she found the Fountain in the Sacred Realm? Presumably it had already been raised, and according to Nabooru, that was the tricky part. So five minutes? Ten? He just hoped he could hold Link for that time.

Another flurry of strikes from Link's glowing blade pressed Rigo backward, almost putting his back to the wall. One of the slashes got through, connecting with his leather breastplate, but the hard armor prevented any real damage from being done. Rigo clumsily lashed back at him, but was parried and succeeded in little else but forcing Link back a couple of paces.

There'd been no time to think about any of this before acting, but everything was racing through Rigo's mind now. What was the Hero of Legend doing here? Zelda had sent him; that much was plain. She must have caught wind of Tydus's treachery and, admittedly, his own. Link would have been sent then to get the situation back in hand. To take the Fountain for the Throne of Hyrule before it had the chance to fall into either enemy's hands.

Rigo wondered if the Queen had known about Link's presence when they'd talked together that night in the castle. He'd be inclined to say no, but at this point he wasn't so sure. Zelda was crafty enough to have delivered Link here, to have put him in a place to become a threat to everyone in a single clever move. Who knew how capable she was of dealing in secrets and lies? Secrets and lies were, after all, the currency any Gerudo would expect from the Hylians.

Link forced himself inward and shoulder checked Rigo in the chest, knocking the air from his lungs and sending him sprawling to the ground. But instead of bearing down on him, instead of trying for a killing blow, the Hero turned and ran. Away from the fight, away and up, into the stairwell that led to the Pedestal of Time. To the Chalice. The Gerudo soldiers nearby were either too distracted or frightened of Link to get in his way.

"No!" Rigo yelled, scurried to his feet, and gave close persuit.

He caught up with Link at the top of the stairs, dove, and grabbed him around his legs, tripping him up and dropping the both of them back to the forest floor before either could reach the Pedestal. Link turned over and swung the Master Sword back at Rigo, but the Gerudo rolled out of the way and sprung back to his feet, ready to challenge the Hero again.

Rigo was reminded of his idea back at Hyrule Castle, about the conflict between the goddesses Din, Farore, and Nayru. Nabooru had told him at the time that even if he was correct about the whole thing, it was moot because Zelda was the only divine vassal left. Nayru was the only goddess still represented in the physical world. But Nabooru had been wrong. This, the appearance of Link here, now, changed things. The Hero was the agent of Farore, alive and in the flesh, and acting in conjunction with Nayru's vassal. And if Rigo's theory was right, then the two of them would only expose themselves for a single purpose: to stand against the agent of the third. To stand against Din.

But if that was the case, where was Din's agent now? Hers was the only one Rigo had yet to encounter, and he expected hers would be the most prominent.

He engaged Link and slashed his blade straight into the Master Sword. Link caught him, and their swords locked together, both combatants pushing against the other with the full weight of their bodies. Rigo was the taller and physically stronger of the two, and as he applied more and more pressure, he could feel Link buckling under him, giving way to his will. The small success built his confidence. He could outlast the Hero in a lock like this. He might put himself in a position to land a glancing hit, or maybe even a lethal one if he got lucky. He angled and prepared to break the lock and saw the nervousness surfacing in Link's eyes. He felt elation rise in his chest as he anticipated the moment of possible victory. Then suddenly, he was struck by a single, horrifying thought.

Din's agent. He realized there was only one person who could hold that mantle. And that person was right here.

After all was said and done, who had come to this place to steal away the Waters of Nayru? Who was mere inches away from accomplishing that goal? Who was prepared to become the ruler of the entire world, through exertion of that stolen power? Rigo knew he could justify the overarching need to end Tydus's plans all day long, but in the end, Tydus was nothing but a paranoid fool, and Rigo had already cast him down. The Hylians were leaderless, and might have been defeated before the day was out, and still Rigo had opened the gate. Still he sent his own agents to raid the goddesses' Sacred Realm, and still he intended to go forward with his plan, despite the promise he had made to Zelda to put a stop to all of this. And now, here he stood, ready, if given the opportunity, to use his own sword to murder the Hero of Legend. In truth, there was only one person here with the means and the drive to take control of the Waters of Nayru and impose his own will on the world.

"It's me," Rigo whispered, and the terror of the thought must have registered in his eyes.

He thought of every evil act, every atrocity ever attributed to his predecessor, Ganondorf, and put himself in that position. Saw himself allying with monsters and devils to rule over the land. Hell, he'd already done that once with the ghosts at the Arbiter's Grounds. He could attack Hyrule Castle and set himself upon its throne. He even had an army that would help him accomplish it. And when that was done? He would seal away the secrets of the Fountain, and keep the power for himself. And the reasons he did it mattered so little now that they were inconsequential. From the very beginning, the moment he broke that Gerudo guardswoman's leg and stole the camel from his own people all those years ago, he had been driven by a single-minded determination to prove himself, and had disregarded the consequences of everything he had done. Can a person be redeemed for his actions? He'd wondered it at the time. But now, he thought that if it were possible, that person would at least need to show penance for their behavior. He had shown none.

No villain, he realized, becomes a villain because they decide to make themselves evil. Everything comes from individual perspective. Everyone has a point of view. And Rigo knew that from his point of view, every action he had taken had been reasonable enough. And there would always be those who agreed with him. The Gerudo would fight for him to the ends of their lives. But at the same time, there would always be those who didn't understand. Those who would only remember the hurt he caused them and their families. Many of the Hylians who died here today would have wives and children. Would they consider Rigo's decisions and actions heroic when all this was over?

He understood that there was a reason some of the Gerudo had supported Sooru, while others supported him. It was the same reason some Hylians supported Tydus over Zelda, and others probably had misgivings. It's because people make their own decisions about the rhyme and reason of the world. And for the very first time, he understood that even Ganondorf himself could not truly have been a monster. Ganondorf had been a man as well. And as a man, he also must have made his own choices and decisions to get to where he had gotten. In his own mind, and even the minds of his followers and supporters, what he'd done had made sense. It had been right. It had been just. And it had been for the sake of the best possible future they all could imagine.

In light of all of this, Rigo also realized that he could no longer go forward. He couldn't kill Link, he couldn't take the Waters of Nayru. To do so would just be to walk a path of destruction that had been laid before him by a goddess whose only real virtue was power. Rigo didn't want power. He hadn't ever wanted to kill anyone. All he had wanted was the love of a girl, and a chance to light the way for his lost people. But now, his best intentions had spiraled into this. And he didn't see a way out.

Fortunately, he didn't have to. Link, taking advantage of Rigo's distraction, smashed he shield into the Gerudo's face. Rigo had just long enough to marvel at the fact that he at least hadn't felt his nose break, when Link jumped, clear over his head, in a feat of athleticism that should by all rights have been impossible. Turning a summersault in the air, the Hero came down behind him, and Rigo felt the sting of the Master Sword as it struck him on the back of the neck. He went down fast, and everything around him went black.