~ Chapter 3 ~

~ Lynna City ~

Lynna City was a bustling place, though not as much so as his hometown, Kakariko. Link also remembered hearing that many years ago there was a large city surrounding Hyrule Castle as well, but it was destroyed when Ganondorf took over. He shuddered at the thought of having to face Ganon again. That dream of Zelda's just had to be wrong. It had to be.

He decided to wander the town for a while, simply out of curiosity. The general store was directly on his right as he entered the city, so he stopped by. The store seemed ill-stocked at the moment, with only some apples, a wooden sword, and a small shield built for self-defense. He'd picked up some rupees in the grass along the way to town, so he purchased the sword and shield (his own was still in Hyrule).

There were many makeshift vendors along the main road. He passed salesmen shouting about their produce, textiles, bread, and tools. Link wondered how the general store stayed in business at all with so much competition and so little stock. He passed this without attracting the shopkeepers' notice. Eventually, however, he reached a building that was a jeweler according to the sign. He tried to walk past as he had every other stall, but the owner was outside ushering in customers. He stopped Link as he passed.

"Sir, why not buy a necklace for a lady friend? I have everything from clay beads to diamonds, silver to gold, and all with the highest quality you will ever find! A real bargain!" He had grasped Link's hand while talking to him.

"Er, no th—aaah!" he gasped, as he was dragged into the shop.

"Oh, you must look, at the very least! I insist!"

Once he was inside, his eyes had to adjust to the dim light after having spent several hours in the sun. The shopkeeper was still looking at him hopefully.

"I'm sorry, I'm truly not intes—"

"Nonsense! A gentleman such as you must have a lady to impress!"

"W-what? I'm not… What I mean is… I'm very far from home right now. I'm trying to save everything I can to return home to her. I need to spend what little I've got left on travel preparations." He was actually proud of himself for twisting his words into a terrible pun that was both the complete truth and a complete lie at the same time. He was well-known among his friends for his inability to fib.

"I can also repair gear such as the chainmail you wear."

Link knew this was going nowhere. "Sir, I really need to be on my—" The door burst open.

"It's a boy! It's a boy!" the newcomer screamed ecstatically. "Young man, you have to come see!" He grabbed Link's hand and dragged him from the shop, leaving a very sour look on the shopkeeper's face.

"I'm a father! Come see, come see! Come see my son!" Link was dragged through several winding streets by his wrist while this man caused everyone to stare. The man tried to drag a few more people along but every one managed to evade him.

Link smiled and nodded, unsure what else to do. The man practically dragged Link to his house, glowing with pride. "Bipin is a father! Bipin is a father!" he was still exclaiming. "Blossom, I'm a FATHER!"

His wife laughed. "Bipin, don't talk like in third person. He'll get bad habits. And let the poor boy you've dragged in go; he looks like he's about to lose his arm you're holding on so tightly." She held the boy out for their unexpected guest to see.

Link smiled, bewildered as to what had just occurred but glad to be out of that stuffy shop nonetheless. "What's his name? He, uh… looks like he'll be very lively one day," asked Link.

"We haven't named him yet. Bipin couldn't stand to wait to spread the news, and didn't even stick around for that—"

"—I have a son!"

She sighed. "Since you've still got some brains right now, would you like to help name him?"

Link thought for a moment, and then remembered a legendary knight of Hyrule. "Pipit," he said. "Name him Pipit."

"A fine name, for a fine boy. Was that your father's name? Come to think of it, what is your name?" Blossom said. "All the excitement has left both of us exhausted, I'm sorry to say."

Link scratched his head. "I'm Link. I… don't know who my father was. I think his name may have been Raven after a distant ancestor. I was raised by my uncle."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

Link shrugged. "I never knew him, don't be."

"Are you new in town?"

"Just visiting. Do you know where I can find the Maku Tree?"

"The Maku Tree's gate is closed to visitors without Mayor Plen's approval. You'll need to talk to him about it. His house and office are just down the hill to the south," she said.

"Thank you. I'll do that." He turned to leave after giving another smile.

"Come back again!"

"Good luck, young Hero!" called Bipin.

As he continued walking, he realized what Bipin had called him. Hero? He shrugged it off; there was no way he was going to be recognized in the colonies.

.:.

Link located the mayor's home office easily with Blossom's directions and went inside, approaching the young woman at the desk. "Is Mayor Plenn available?" he asked.

She looked up, fairly disgruntled. "He's not here right now. He went to look into the tower that seems to be rapidly growing to the southwest. Have a nice day."

"Umm… thanks," he said, put off by your lack of hospitality. This day was anything but nice. He walked out the door with his shoulders slumped.

.:.

The tower was much larger than it looked from a distance. In fact, Link could have sworn it actually was bigger than before, and there was the sinister tingle of black magic in the air. He nearly threw up. That aura… it's like his… Ganon

Link was all too familiar with the burning pain that a direct hit from a black-bolt would cause. The tingling that occurred when standing in the presence of such magic was merely a muted version of the same sensation. Some of the attacks he'd been hit with by Ganon during the battle in the Pyramid still caused ghosting pains to this day.

He couldn't go in. He couldn't—

footsteps—

His whole body was trembling—

Closer—

He couldn't move—

Closer—

Even if he wanted to—

The footsteps stopped—?

He fell to his knees—

It's Ganon it's Ganon he's right behind me oh goddesses I'm going to die I'm going to die I—

"Are you alright?"

He's tricking me he wants me to let my guard down oh goddesses—

"Hey! Are you listening to me? Snap out of it!" A pair of hands grabbed his shoulders and shook him.

He's standing right in front of me I'm going to die why can't I move why hasn't he killed me yet why—

"HEY! Snap out of it kid!"

Darkness.

.:.

Link gradually became aware of muffled sounds as if from underwater. They became clearer as he regained sensation in his limbs, before he finally opened his eyes.

"I'm… alive?"

"Of course you are."

Link jumped. "Who—"

"I am Plen, the mayor of Lynna… and you are?"

"Link…"

"Well, Link, I don't know what happened to you, but I found you writhing on the ground like you were in pain. You didn't seem to even see me when you looked right into my eyes. After you passed out I carried you back to my house."

"Oh… thank you," Link replied with a guilty expression.

"What happened?"

"I… uh… flashbacks, you could say."

"Flashbacks?"

"From… no, I can't talk about it yet."

"It's not my place to pry, but take it easy for a bit."

"Actually, I came to the tower to find you. I was told you could give me permission to see the Maku Tree?"

The mayor sighed. "Kid, I don't know that you—"

"It's urgent."

"Are you sure you should be walking around?"

"I'll be fine."

The old man didn't question the determined look he saw in Link's eyes, conceding defeat. "All right, here's a letter. Give it to the guard at the gate."

"Where is the gate?"

"It's to the northwest. Just look for the tree that towers over everything, and head that way. The gate itself is directly south of the Maku Tree." He still didn't look too happy about letting Link leave after just regaining consciousness.

"Thank you so much, sir!" Link smiled and put on his boots, and left the house. As he turned to leave, however, he stopped. "Did you… feel it?"

"Feel what? The dark energy surrounding that tower?"

"…Yeah." Link swallowed, dreading what was coming next.

"Is… that why you collapsed? You must be extremely sensitive to it for it to have that kind of effect."

Link didn't answer.

"Legend has it that around 400 years ago Queen Ambi began construction that tower to guide her seafaring lover home. It was never completed, despite pressure from her advisor, Nayru."

Link started. Nayru? Had Veran taken her back to that time period? If so, then that aura was probably Veran's, not Ganon's. Just a crazy demoness, nothing to worry about, right? He breathed a sigh in relief, before walking out the door.

.:.

The gate was huge, at least two stories high. The tree was at least ten times that height, and directly behind the gate. It was a wonder the roots hadn't pushed up half the town.

Link took a deep breath. Let's do this.

Less than a month since the last update! Woo! Where is everyone? My email account is very lonely D: Is everyone on vacation or something?

I took a lot of creative liberties with this chapter, because I wanted to explore the town and expand on it. A few key points that I changed, for those of you who haven't played the game:

- Link actually gets his sword from Impa. I completely forgot to write that in, so there you go. He has a sword now.

- Obviously, the GBC can't handle as much scenery as I described.

- Pretty much the entire plot of this chapter was original, but based on the characters' personalities and actions. Except for Plen, who never leaves his house and really has no reason for existing. I didn't think it made much sense for a mayor to play literally no role at all, so now he has a small one.

- Plen doesn't have a secretary. I based her off of Peatrice from Skyward Sword

- Bipin and Blossom were tons of fun to write; Keep an eye out, they'll be returning!

Again, huge thanks to my beta Deeborm on dA! If I have any errors in here, that's not his fault :P I didn't bother sending it to him for a second look-through XD

Today's feature goes to "Cowardice" by SkywardPrincessOfTime :)