Legends of the Hero of Time

by Ryan-Sinclair

Following the events of Ocarina of Time & Majora's Mask, Link struggles to adapt to a civilian lifestyle. His obsession with his mission leads him to need to be rescued by Malon. The bond the two develop after helps him accept his new fate. However, his destiny remains uncertain as he must contend with a conniving Ganondorf, an army of Gerudo, and the consequences of Zelda's spell.

38. Chapter 36

Chapter 36

.

.

.

[Time: 11:15 P.M. (Late Night)]

[Date: Month 8 'Autumn', Day 15, 8th Era]

(Location: Hyrule, City of Hyrule, Castle Town Market - Fountain)

.

It was quite late at night and most people, especially those who had to get up tomorrow at a decent time to attend to their regular jobs, were all either in bed or already fast asleep. Only those who were working a graveyard shift or too drunk to make it home were still out and about the backstreets. Aside from a few chatting guards, the only individuals in the nearly empty marketplace happened to be a dancing couple who were on their usual midnight date. They both stood by the central fountain, pining for the other as they whispered sweet words of love to one another.

"Oh, Darling-..." A redheaded hylian woman, who happened to be the daughter of a local baron, held a deep longing for her fiance as the two embraced underneath the bright moonlight. "I love you." The white bodice of her long-sleeved dress seemed almost illuminated from the dim ambient glow, yet her ruffled bluish skirt reflected in a way that made her look alluringly ghostly from the waist down. "I love you more than the moon is beautiful."

The curly brown-haired hylian man, who's the son of a rival baron, gazed at his fiancee with a metaphorical fire of desire burning in his eyes. He had worn his best clothes in order to impress her; donning a white silk form fitting one-piece, blue shoes and a fancy blue velvet vest. "My gorgeous, Honey. I love you more than all the stars you can see in this night sky."

"I don't care what my father says, you're the right man for me." Honey bemoaned her dad's disapproval of their perfect relationship.

"And, you're the only woman for me." Darling made sure she knew how much he cared about her, as well as how nothing and nobody could come between them. What they had was true love. They were too compatible with each other for their relationship to be spoiled by feuding parents. "No matter what my father says either."

Kissing his alluring lips, as they romantically spun in a circle, slow dancing near the fountain, the couple made-out quite fervidly with each other. Since it was as peaceful as it was, they got lost in one another, forgetting that anything else around them even existed. For the time being, it was only them that were there in the spotlight of the overseeing moon. They were the only things in the whole wide world that currently mattered. Everything else was just a bad dream that only their lover helped them escape from.

"Hey! Hey!" A kid's voice called out to the two lovebirds. "You two stink!"

Honey completely ignored them, yet Darling couldn't. When he turned his head, he saw several rambunctious ragamuffins loitering around the bakery. They were clearly orphans, seeing how their clothes were in tatters and their faces were dirty. Either way, they were a nuisance because the man was trying to enjoy his time with his fiancee. "Buzz off you twerp. Go home already, it's past your bedtime."

One of the barefooted children stepped forth to blow a raspberry as the others laughed.

"Ignore them, Darling. They're just kids." Honey insisted as she nuzzled her nose against his.

Darling smiled at his betrothed as he started to zone back into the daze of lust he'd been trapped in ever since he first met her. "Yeah. You're right. Besides, you're the only thing that matters to me."

A kid that was wearing a frayed vest and torn trousers picked up a small pebble and lobbed it at the guy.

"Roses are red, foxes are clever-..." The barefoot kid pervily shouted to the woman. "I like your butt, let me touch it forever!"

Honey gasped and pouted at the insult to her backside.

Darling grumbled at the continuous interruption, yet as soon as the tiny rock struck the guy in the shoulder, he winced from the stinging sensation, let go of his beloved and then proceeded to go on the offense. Suddenly, he took off running toward the paupers, ready to wring the neck of whichever he could get his hands on. "YOU LITTLE TURDS!"

The scamps took off running toward the Worship District, laughing all the while.

"Look out!" One of them shouted tauntingly "Gramps got mad!"

"I'M THIRTY TWO YEARS OLD, YOU TURD!" Darling kept chasing them. "YOU BETTER NOT LET ME CATCH YOU OR I'M GONNA WASH YOUR MOUTHS OUT WITH THE SOAP YOU'RE DIRTY LITTLE ASSES ARE SO AFRAID OF!"

The barefooted kid spun around, running backward as he held up both of his middle fingers and spat another childish insult "Nah, Nah, nah, boo boo. Go stick your head in doo doo!" After nearly laughing himself to death, he returned to face forward. He stuck close to his friends as they fled from the enraged man, heading deeper down the road which led all the way to the Temple of Time.

"You can't catch us, old man!" The one with a dirty face cackled.

"COME HERE!" Darling shouted at the three, not caring how loud his voice was or how much it echoed between the surrounding structures.

The dastardly boy with the frayed vest and tattered trousers purposely knocked over an old crate that had been leaning up against the side of a local building, causing it to tumble loudly into the middle of the street. It busted into several pieces; thankfully turning out to be empty. Either way, it temporarily blocked the path of the guy pursuing them by causing him to stop and go around the debris. Those few extra seconds provided the no good punks enough distance needed to get away from Darling. By the time he got around the obstacle, they were too far away for him to catch up to and he knew it.

"DAMN KIDS!" He shook his fist at them as they continued running down the road.

They were proud of themselves for causing a disruption, so much so that they high-fived each other on the way down the road.

"Man, I'm wide awake!" The barefooted boy said as they got further and further away from the furious darling. "Hey, let's go try an' pull the Master Sword from its pedestal!"

The dirty-faced kid laughed like a little maniac as he reminded them of the orphanage attendant they'd have to deal with later on whenever they returned to their home. "Mother Magglie's gonna tear us a new one for staying up so late!"

"Who cares? She can't catch us. We're too fast for her!" The torn vest boy sneered as they began to go too far away for Darling to hear them anymore.

After watching the ruffians disappear down the road, heading for the Temple of Time, Darling was satisfied that they were gone and wouldn't be a bother to him or his love any longer. He straightened his blue velvet vest as he gradually made his way back to the fountain in the center of the marketplace.

He shook his head and grumbled at how rude the younger generation of children were to those that were older than them; especially the kids that had no class, like street urchins. They weren't complex nor were they very smart. Unlike him, they weren't lucky either. With a baron as a father, he was born into wealth and was always well taken care of. On the other hand, they were surviving off of scraps and working menial jobs for green rupees. Because of that, it was only logical that they'd poke fun at him and his fiancee's happiness.

Using his hands to comb his curly hair back, his grumpy face turned into a smiling one as soon as his eyes landed upon his beloved. She had waited for him. In fact, she had always waited on him, ever since they were the same age as the kids that just pestered them.

"Well?" Honey giggled as she fluttered her eyelashes at her fiance. "Did you get them?"

Darling pointed back at the road with his thumb. His face flushed a bit as he stared at her beauty, plus he was a tad humiliated by the ruffians that harassed them. Nonetheless, he wasn't going to let her know that they bothered him and got away scotch free. "They won't be bothering us anymore. They were running with their tails tucked between their legs."

"You're so brave!" Honey latched onto her lover and kissed him deeply.

Lifting her up, Darling spun them around as they started to focus on their date again. "I'd do anything for you." He told her as he placed her back on the ground.

"Yeah?!" Honey fluttered her eyelashes again as she delicately drew her hand up his chest.

Feeling butterflies in his heart from the woman's seductive nature, the man confirmed what he said "Yeah."

Poking her lips out as she contemplated what she wanted, the woman eventually came to the conclusion that she wasn't ready to end the night yet. "Then how about you take me to one more place before we head back to our new home?"

"Where do you want to go?" Darling beamed a smile at his soon-to-be wife.

Giggling, Honey shrugged with a smile of her own. "I don't know, somewhere romantic."

Darling took a moment to think about where he could take her that would suit her tastes, somewhere perfect to complete their date at. Since it was so late at night, most places were already closed until sunrise. Because of that, he struggled for a bit to come up with a good location. Fortunately, the scoundrels who had just terrorized him had unknowingly given him a clue. "Hmm… What do you think about the Temple of Time?"

"Huh?" She cocked her head with a goofy look. "Why there?"

"Well-..." He tried to explain, conveniently omitting where he got the idea from. "It's ancient, like I hope our love will become when we're old, beautiful like every inch of you and-..." Stopping for a moment, he scratched the back of his head prior to continuing "I was thinking it would be really romantic if we went and tried to pull the Master Sword together?"

Honey looked at him with wide dazzling eyes. "Aww!" She cooed at how charming the idea was. "That's so sweet! Maybe the power of our true love will allow us to pull it out!" Gently biting her lower lip, she twirled a strand of her red hair as she thought about what it would prove if they were indeed able to accomplish such a tremendous feat. "Our fathers would have to admit that you and I are twin flames."

"I love you." Darling said as he closed the distance between his lips and hers.

Honey, with metaphorical hearts in her eyes, held her fiance's shoulders as they smooched.

.

[Ten Minutes Later]

.

Darling and Honey had gone through the Worship District, making it to the end of the road that led toward the Temple of Time. Although it was a dark night, a few street lamps had lit their path and the church in front of them was illuminated with a golden hue.

Standing at the bottom of the broad stone stairs which led up to the raised foundation the structure was built upon, together they looked at and admired the rectangular cathedral's classical architecture. Its massive symmetrical stone facade had tall arched stained-glass windows in addition to a rose window and two towers between a spire. The grand entrance was framed with a peaked archway, large heavy wooden doors as well as a pedimental sculpture of The Triforce. At the very back of the building, they could see the dome to the sanctuary, the chamber where the Master Sword is held.

"Wow-..." Honey was in awe. "I don't think I've ever seen the Temple of Time at night. It's gorgeous."

Taking a single step up the stairs, Darling lifted his fiancee's hand and gently kissed the top of it. "Not nearly as gorgeous as you, my love." Afterward, he carefully led her up the steps, ensuring she didn't trip on her dress.

"Aww. I love you so much." Honey held onto her fiance as they ascended the stairs.

Once they were on top of the raised foundation that was protected by a wrought iron fence, the dancing couple got an even better view. Surrounding the temple was a tranquil courtyard that had neatly laid stone paths and freshly cut grass, which gave it a rather serene atmosphere no matter what time of the day it happened to be. Directly in front were four Gossip Stones and to the left was a dirt path. This path led to the entrance, carving straight into the middle of a giant decorative reflection pool that had been built around the entire Temple of Time.

Now that they were at a better angle, they also took notice of the guardsmen that were hanging around. There were more than they expected, at least five. Fortunately, none of them appeared to be bothered by the couple's presence. In fact, they were mostly conversing with one another.

Despite not actively doing anything, since there were so many of them, Honey felt nervous about being around the handful of guardsmen at this point in the night. Regardless of how they weren't breaking any rules, she still didn't want to get into any trouble with law enforcement. Plus, she didn't want to be near any foolishly drunken soldiers that were probably looking to instigate a fight or make lewd remarks about her.

"What are all of these guards doing here?" She asked her fiance. "Maybe we should turn around and go somewhere else?"

Before Darling had a chance to speak on the matter, the doors to the Temple of Time gradually creaked open, revealing a heavily wrinkled, hunched over elderly woman who very slowly walked with a cane. Her hair was thinning, grey and covered with a bonnet. The dress she had on was a middle-class evening dress; well-stitched, with a fitted bodice and a skirt that had a bustle. She had a small picnic basket she carried.

"My, oh my." She spoke to the guards. "You boys are still here?"

A few of them chuckled while one said "Unfortunately we're posted here."

The old lady hobbled over to them. "Well, bless your hearts for the good work you do for us people. I hope you stay warm tonight." Bringing up her picnic basket, she opened it, rummaged around and then pulled out something that was wrapped in a red cloth. "And, have some clapbread. It's what's leftover from the charity supper, but they still have some heat in them."

"Thanks, Granny Fafadue!" A couple of the guardsmen enjoyed the warm snack from the elderly lady.

"You're welcome." She handed out flattened disks of dried oatmeal cakes. "You boys have a lovely night."

One of the guards took a bite of the clapbread and then waved to the elderly lady. "Goodnight, Granny Fafadue."

After witnessing what had just occurred, Honey had a renewed sense of safety in the face of the friendly guardsmen. She felt that they would be okay around them and not worried about what they were doing. Besides, the fact that somebody just came out of the temple also meant that it was still open to the public regardless of the heightened law enforcement presence.

"It's up to you, my love." Darling finally spoke up. "I can take you anywhere that you want to go."

Shaking her head, she smiled and entwined her fingers with his. "No, it's okay. As long as I'm with you, I know that I'm safe."

"I'll always protect you." He replied as he gently squeezed her hand.

The old lady walked by the couple, smiling at their youthful romance as she went on her way back home.

Both of the lovers proceeded onward the short dirt path that led to the Temple of Time. Without worrying anymore about the guards, Honey was finding herself further giddy at the thought of trying to remove the Master Sword from the Pedestal of Time. She began not only obsessing over the potential of proving the love they held for one another was true, but also that she could smear it in their parents' faces. More than anything, she hoped that her and her fiance would be capable of being the ones to do it.

Darling, on the other hand, was a bit nervous still. Except, he wasn't concerned with the guards as much as he was the woman he adored dearly. He wanted to make sure this date with his fiancee ended with an unforgettable experience. Because of that, he was trying hard to ensure she got to do everything that she wanted to do.

Walking beyond the guardsmen that were eating their clapbread, the couple made it to the entrance of the Temple of Time. Like any gentleman worth their salt should do, Darling quickly opened the heavy wooden door for his love. Honey fluttered her eyelashes at him as she went inside first.

Stepping inside the Temple of Time, they entered into the nave; a hallway that served as the main area where the congregation gathered to worship the Golden Goddesses, Goddess Hylia and The Triforce. Unlike the brick exterior, the interior walls were smooth white marble. Aisles on each side had more stained-glass windows and their pillars supported the clerestory above. Usually the vaulted ceiling provided plenty of sunlight, but since it was nighttime, the two massive decorative chandeliers were lit with candles that gave off a soft golden hue.

The polished, diamond shaped tiles in the nave were in sharp contrast to the black and white checkered flooring in both aisles. A third of the way across the rug was a Triforce Platform. Yet, the red runner carpet and its embroidered yellow ancient hylian writing on the edging were of central focus, purposely leading anyone who entered the cathedral toward the chancel, which had the altar where the three Spiritual Stones were held.

While there was another guardsman inside, standing there by the entrance, there was also a Royal Sage from the Church of The Triforce who appeared to be observing the altar and its Sacred Stones.

"Ooh, it's totally different here at night." Honey remarked.

"It's very serene." Darling added.

Up ahead of the royal sage and the sacred altar, there was a massive open passage with a huge pedimental sculpture of The Triforce above more ancient hylian engravings. This threshold led into the sanctuary of the Temple of Time, where the legendary Master Sword was held. However, despite being such a holy place, several easily recognizable scoundrels emerged from the depths, all of which looked disappointed.

The barefooted street urchin could be heard saying "That sucked!"

"Not even a friggin' wiggle!" The dirty faced boy grumbled as he kicked up his feet while walking. "That thing's gotta be glued in there, or somethin'!"

"A whole bunch of nothin' just for us to get our asses whipped by Mother Magglie." The ragamuffin with the torn vest and tattered trousers replied.

The final kid was upset that he couldn't pull the Master Sword either. He was pouting with crossed arms and a protruding lower lip. Yet, his attitude perked up whenever he took notice of the couple. Pointing at them, he joked "Hey, check it, it's the old geezer and the lady with the big ol' butt!"

"Crap!" The barefooted child exclaimed. "They followed us! Let's split!"

Darling smirked as he gestured threateningly by palming his fist. Although he certainly wasn't about to get into a brawl with a bunch of brats, especially in the middle of the Temple of Time, they didn't know that nor did they need to know. At this point, they assumed he was there to teach them a lesson and he intended to continue letting them think that was his plan. "That's right, you little punks!"

"Run!" The orphan with the ripped vest hollered as he and his friends took off, splitting into pairs of two while sprinting around the altar.

"Hey!" The royal sage chastised the fleeing paupers for their disrespect to the cathedral. "Please, no running in the Temple of Time! This is a house of worship, not a playground!"

Completely ignoring the holy man, the street urchins ran around the pursuing Darling. One of them held his cap to his head as he sprinted while another tripped and nearly fell. Either way, within less than a minute, the scoundrels had vacated the premises. They definitely needed to go back to the orphanage since it was so late, but who knows where they were going to regroup at or what they planned to do next.

"You're so goofy!" Honey giggled at her fiance pretending to be rough and tough.

Darling waved off the description. "Eh, they needed to be taught a lesson."

The beautiful redheaded woman couldn't help other than to see her prince charming standing there. He wasn't as strong as he was feigning to the paupers, yet he was the only one who made her feel as safe as he did. On the other hand, after seeing the kids again, there was a particular thought she held. "Hey, can you answer a question for me?"

"Of course." Darling nodded as he returned to his love, clasping his hands around hers. "Anything for you."

"My butt's not really that big-... Is it?" Honey enquired as she made an attempt to glance at her backside.

Darling froze in place. He didn't expect to be asked such a query. Nonetheless, he eventually couldn't resist laughing. Although he tried to stop, by stifling them, they merely came out as snickers. It was funny to him that she was worried about what a bunch of uneducated brats thought. Still, he knew better than to give the wrong reply. Considering that, he told her "Honey, your butt is perfect."

"Perv!" Honey giggled prior to pulling him closer so that they could kiss there in the middle of the cathedral's nave.

Their lips met and once again they enjoyed a heated moment of passion. Same as earlier, before they were interrupted and left The Market, they got lost in each other. Within the silence of the majestic structure, they were able to zone out from everything around them. Not even saying a word, as the two smooched, they both had connected thoughts of the bright future they planned to build together. Both of them couldn't wait to get married, settle away from their parents and have children together. It was the only thing currently in their heads.

"No public display of affection, please." The royal sage, with his seemingly all-seeing eyes, complained about the couple's kissing. "This is the Temple of Time, not a pleasure palace."

Pulling away from the briefly fervid romance, Honey and Darling both laughed softly in embarrassment that they'd been caught. They also found it humorous that they were able to be so attracted to one another no matter where they were. Regardless, they apologized in unison. "We're sorry."

The royal sage rolled his eyes before returning to his study of the altar and its three Spiritual Stones.

Proceeding hand-in-hand, the couple walked down the red carpet there in the nave of the Temple of Time. All the while, they were imagining it being their wedding, that they were walking each other down the aisle to get married.

Making their way past the grumpy royal sage and the sacred altar with the three Spiritual Stones atop it, Honey and Darling ambled their way up the left ramp of the chancel. As they did so, their interest got the better of them and they both took a quick glance at the precious jewels that were being studied.

There in the first slot was the Kokiri Emerald, a gorgeous green faceted gemstone which was encased in a golden frame resembling that of the Crest of the Kokiri. In the second slot was the Goron's Ruby, a fiery red kite-shaped jewel that was encased in a golden frame between two prongs, making it resemble the Crest of the Gorons. Lastly was the Zora's Sapphire, three deep blue stones which were smooth and rounded as well as held within a golden three curved-pronged frame which resembled the Crest of the Zora.

Connected to the altar was also an angled stone slab with ancient hylian inscriptions above and below a musical staff. On this staff were six musical notes. D, A, F, D, A and F. There were also scattered pieces of parchment paper where the royal sage appeared to be attempting to translate the language. So far, all he had was 'Ocarina opens the door. Master Sword.' and 'The Hero of Time appears.'

Moving on, the couple ascended the short ramp of the chancel and then turned to go inside the grand passage that led to the Temple of Time's sanctuary. Looking up, they saw the Door of Time, which had been retracted into a pocket cavity specifically designed to hide it.

Going deeper, they eventually came out of the short vestibule, arriving in the next room. The sanctuary was as ornate as the rest of the cathedral. Unlike the rectangular nave, this chamber was a three-story high circular rotunda crowned with a domed roof. Perfectly in the middle was a grandiose centerpiece, a giant decorative hexagonal platform with steps leading up on top. In the center of the platform was the Master Sword, which was snugly seated within the trapezoidal Pedestal of Time. A single window high up on the wall would've allowed for sunlight were it not nighttime. Instead, a series of candelabra lit the way.

"Look-..." Honey remarked as she pointed at the divine weapon. "There it is, the Blade of Evil's Bane."

In the center of the chamber, embedded in the slot on the Pedestal of Time, was the legendary Master Sword. Its hilt was an ultramarine colour, with a crossguard that gracefully curved upward, resembling the wings of a bird. Embellished in the center of the quillion was a golden gem-like ornament. Since it was made from a heavenly steel-blue metal alloy of mystical origin, the double-edged blade gleamed with a silvery sheen without any light there to cause the reflection.

"Wow." Darling responded in awe as he and his fiancee gradually approached the center of the sanctuary.

Ascending the short series of steps that were chiseled into the front of the stone platform, they saw the six engravings, each of which depicted a crest belonging to one of the Sacred Sage; forest, fire, water, spirit, shadow and light. Every one of these also represented all of the civilized races present in Hyrule; kokiri, goron, zora, gerudo, sheikah and hylian.

"I'm so nervous!" Honey exclaimed.

Darling chuckled as they approached the Master Sword. "Why?"

"What do you mean, why?" Honey giggled as she raised an eyebrow at her love. "It's a holy artifact. What if we really do manage to pull it out?"

"We already thought of that, remember?" Darling reminded his fiancee.

Honey poked her lips out as she thought about the potential situation, the possibility of them actually removing the Master Sword from the Pedestal of Time. "We're really going to go shove it in our parents' faces?"

Darling stifled a snicker as he joked about sticking the sword somewhere the sun doesn't shine. "I can think of somewhere else we can shove it in our parents."

Slapping her lover's shoulder, Honey held back her own laughter. "You're so bad!"

Now that they were beyond the prying super eyes of the Royal Sage from the Church of The Triforce, the couple shared another brief kiss. Standing there next to the most powerful weapon that was in existence, they gave it a proper display of their affection toward one another, showing it the true love they held in their hearts for their soulmate. After the loving smooch, they pulled away from the embrace, then both of them held the other's hand while placing their free hand on the hilt and pommel of the Master Sword.

"I love you." Darling declared to his significant other.

Honey beamed a smile at her love as she fluttered her eyelashes. "I love you too."

"Ready?" He asked.

"Yeah." She told him as she prepared herself. "Let's do this!"

Nodding, Darling stated "On three." He prepared himself as well in advance of beginning the short countup. "One-... two-... THREE!"

The moment after he hollered the word 'three', both he and his redheaded fiancee immediately gave the handle of the Master Sword the biggest tug they could summon by only using one hand each. Unfortunately, no matter the fact that they were giving it their all and their bodies were visibly shaking from trying as hard as possible, the Blade of Evil's Bane didn't so much as wiggle a quarter of a centimeter. As a matter of fact, they quickly discovered that it didn't even feel like it was lodged in the pedestal. Instead of budging, it felt as if it had been cemented, locked and tied down. Quite obviously, there was no hope of them removing it.

Honey soon gave up as her arms grew tired of the feeble attempt. "Oh my. That's not coming out."

Darling wasn't quite ready to admit defeat. Regardless of him not being by any means a bodybuilder, the adrenaline pumping into his muscles made him refuse to give up. Trying harder, he even wrapped both hands around the quillion and crouched, hoping to get a superior grip as well as more leg power. He thought that might make it easier. On the other hand, it didn't work. Nothing he did worked. No tugs of any magnitude were able to release the Pedestal of Time's lock tight grip on the Master Sword.

His arm muscles merely bulged and quivered until they too caused him to relent. He stumbled backward, getting caught by his love. With a chuckle, he said "Oof! Whoa! That sucker's in there!"

"Yeah, we're definitely not getting that thing out of there." Honey lamented their inability.

Darling shook his head and sighed. He felt as if he'd let them down, that he had let their relationship down. "I'm so sorry, Honey. I really thought there was a chance we'd be able to get it, but it looks like that's not going to happen." Cupping his hand to her cheek, he continued to apologize. "What a letdown. I was really hoping we could show it as a badge of honour, to show everyone that our love could move mountains."

"Our love can move mountains-..." Honey giggled softly, not as upset about their failure as her fiance seemingly was. "Don't ever forget that." With a resurfacing smile, she told him. "This was the best date ever."

Hearing that, Darling perked up. Flashing a smile of his own, he asked her "Really?"

"Of course." Honey reminded him. "Anywhere I'm at, as long as I'm with you, I'm having the best time of my life."

Darling's head slowly tilted as he adored the sentiment. He was so happy to hear her say what she did that he closed the distance between their lips.

Once again, they kissed. Yet, this time they got a bit more passionate than they previously had. Both of them were so elated to have the other in their life that they couldn't think of anything else. They embraced and fervidly made-out for a solid minute prior to deciding to leave the Temple of Time. With their date completed and midnight looming, they were ready to begin making their way back to their home.

.

[Thirty Minutes Later]

.

"Go, go, go." A gerudo raqīb whispered an order to three veteran jundiin soldiers of the Imperial Army as they stealthily approached the outer-curtain wall of Castle Town. "Stay down, stay low, stay alert."

The raqīb donned a black hijab, a black halter top, black sirwals and black leather poulaines. It was unusually inelegant for gerudo fashion. Yet, the outfit was perfectly suited for covert purposes. Besides, it wouldn't be practical for her to wear sandals or loose fitting garments since they weren't in the Gerudo Desert. She needed tight fitting fabric to keep warm in the cooler climate as well as the head cover to shield her identity.

As for the three following jundiin soldiers, they dressed in similar clothing. Except, instead of a hijab, they wore a black niqab, a full body cloak which concealed not only their noses and mouths, but their scimitars as well.

Their mission was to effortlessly infiltrate the City of Hyrule and then carry out the rest of the tasks Lord Ganondorf assigned them. None of it was going to be easy either, as even in the shadows of midnight, there were numerous hyrulean guards working the nightshift, patrolling the perimeter and on lookout for nerdowells. If either of the intruding women were spotted, the alarm bell would arouse the entire military. Since there were a lot less people currently awake, they preferred to keep it that way by using any skillfully available tactics they needed in order to keep their presence unknown.

On the left, a few hundred feet down, was the raised drawbridge. For rather obvious reasons, they weren't even going to try using it. Instead, they crawled on their bellies toward the location near the curtain wall that was the designation where they were supposed to rendezvous with their undercover operative; a gerudo spy who had been in Castle Town for the last six months.

As predicted, they saw an on-duty guardsman gradually walking along the top of the curtain wall. The armed hylian glanced out at Hyrule Field, staring at what little he could see. He looked at a few bushes and the trail alongside the passing Zora River. Unfortunately, he failed to spot the invaders due to the gerudo being so low to the ground as well as camouflaged in the shadows by their darkened clothing.

The hidden squad of gerudo resumed movement as soon as the sentry stopped his search for anybody who didn't belong. It was a bit risky for them to continue so quickly, yet the sneaky women were relatively sure he wasn't going to turn around or look behind him. Sure enough, the man kept going, allowing them the opportunity needed to come up to the bank of the Zora River, which ran alongside the curtain wall as if it were a natural moat.

Afterwards, they halted again.

"What's next?" One of the jundiin whispered as they waited while crouching by the riverbank.

"We wait for our inside source." The raqīb replied in a quiet voice.

For the next couple of minutes, the women patiently waited without making a peep. However, the longer it took, the more they began to grow suspicious that something had happened to their covert operative. By the third minute, they were getting concerned with being out in the open for too long. As aforementioned, none of them wanted to get caught as they'd have the might of the entire Hyrulean Army called down upon them.

Thankfully, right whenever another soldier was about to question the delay, they saw their inside source come into view in between the battlements. As stated during the debriefing and confirmed right now, the individual they were meeting up with was wearing a dark green hooded robe. She was also a gerudo. Further complicating matters was the fact that it was the very same person who received intel from the big-nosed hylian man; the same middle-aged woman who assisted Eraka by directing the bandits to attack the Lon Lon caravan.

"She's here." The raqīb stated. "Get ready."

In-between the merlons, standing on the crenel, the hooded gerudo waved to make sure the outside team saw her. Afterward, she grabbed a rope and tied it into a noose. Then, holding it up, she looped the neck of it around the merlon and tightened it as snugly as she could. Retrieving the other end of the rope, she finished preparations by attaching a hunk of stone to it. Following one last signal, she reeled back and lobbed the rock as far over the edge of the curtain wall as she could manage.

Crossing above Zora's River, the weighted end of the rope landed just at the shoreline, rolling to a stop about twenty feet from the encroaching intruders.

"Let's go." The raqīb commanded.

Moving together, all four of the gerudo trespassers approached the rock that had been tied to the end of the rope. The raqīb grabbed, lifted and held the entwined stone. Since she was the team leader, she got the rope ready for her veteran jundiin to use. By doing so, they would be able to both swing across the narrow river and then climb up the curtain wall.

"Who's first?" The raqīb enquired.

Stepping forth, one of the veteran jundiin volunteered to take the lead. The raqīb made sure that the woman grabbed onto the rope at a decent spot, a spot that would allow for a smooth crossing. With a mighty leap upward and a swift push, the gerudo then swung from one side of the river to the other prior to letting go and tumbling onto the bank. Doing so was much quieter than swimming across, plus they wouldn't have to get wet, which was ideal since the temperature was rather chilly for such a method.

Once the rope returned to the group, before it had the chance to lose momentum, it was snatched by the raqīb. She gave it to the second volunteer in advance of doing the precise same as they just had. Whenever the next jundiin grabbed on, the team leader assisted in propelling the soldier forward.

Joining her teammate, the second jundiin joined the first. After tumbling, she regrouped. Both of them slid up against the curtain wall in order to hide.

"Hurry." The raqīb said as she yanked the dangling stone out of mid-air.

The third and final jundiin nodded in acknowledgement. As soon as she got into position, she jumped up and grabbed as high up on the rope as possible.

Pushing the jundiin across, the raqīb watched and ensured that her subordinate made it to the otherside. Just like the previous two gerudo, the soldier landed with a roll. Now that she was the last one left, the raqīb waited for the rope to come back to her. To her dismay, out of the corner of her eye, she spotted another hylian guardsman walking atop the curtain wall. She had to resist the temptation to jump early despite being worried about getting seen. Fortunately, the moment she had a hold of the tied stone, she leapt up and used her feet to help her effortlessly swing across.

"Quick!" She whispered with a sense of urgency as she landed on the other side. "Hide!"

Her and the third jundiin were quick about darting up against the curtain wall. All four of them remained that way for the next minute, waiting for the guard on his rounds to walk past them. They felt assured that their covert operative had already hidden herself. But, they prayed to the Sand Goddess that the hylian voe wouldn't spot the rope attached to the battlement.

"Pesnogt!" The raqīb uttered a curse in geldik as she scrambled to try and grab the forgotten ensnared rock.

In spite of how none of them thought about it because of their rush to get out of open view, without anybody to catch the swaying rope, the attached stone came back across the river and then proceeded to slam into the curtain wall. A loud thud echoed throughout the vicinity.

"What the-...?" The hylian guardsman expressed his curiosity in regard to the sudden noise.

The raqīb managed to grab onto the rope and made sure to hold it still. She then shushed her jundiin. "Shh…"

"Hey!" The guard came within five feet of the rope up top around the merlon. He peeked between the battlement and hollered into the darkness of the night. "WHO'S OUT THERE!?"

Standing there, the man carefully examined the immediate surrounding. He scrutinized the riverbank, watched for any movement in nearby bushes and even listened for any signs of footsteps. Try as he might, he didn't notice the gerudo right below him due to the angle they were at. The women were too close to the curtain wall for him to spot them. It's possible he might've seen their footprints, but the lack of light was currently obscuring their trail.

"I know I heard something!" He yelled again, not quite as loud as before.

The raqīb continued to hold her index finger to her lips, indicating that she wanted her three jundiin to keep their mouths shut.

Refusing to give up, the sentry kept scanning the background until his vision landed on a tree that had snapped in half. Narrowing his eyes, he wondered if the sound he had heard could've been the withered oak falling. He wasn't positive if the plant had been that way before now or not. "What the hell?" The man spoke softer as he became unsure if the sound was intruders or if it was merely nature. "I know I'm not losing my mind."

Scratching the back of his head, the guard finally relented. "Man, that scared the crap out of me." Feeling that he had overreacted to the situation, he ceased being cautious. Luckily for the gerudo and unfortunately for him, he also missed spotting the rope that was tightly wrapped around the protruding merlon. He simply kept ambling along the wall-walk, proceeding onward with his usual patrol route. With only a single glance back, he soon vanished around the curve of the curtain wall.

Playing it safe, the raqīb waited an additional thirty seconds after the voe had left before she felt comfortable enough to carry on with her mission. "Okay, let's go." She oversaw the jundiin. "Two at a time."

Two of the jundiin grabbed onto the rope and swiftly climbed it, ascending to the top of the curtain wall. Grabbing onto the battlement, one launched themselves over while the second climbed between the crenel. Now that they were on the wall-walk, it was their job to keep watch for any incoming guards.

"Ready?" The raqīb asked the last jundiin.

"Ma'am, yes ma'am." The gerudo formally confirmed.

Giving a nod of acknowledgment, the raqīb held the rope as the last jundiin climbed up. As soon as the soldier was high enough, the team leader began ascending right behind. Both of them made it up onto the wall-walk within a matter of seconds. The two soldiers who were already atop were able to swiftly assist the last of their squad by pulling them over the battlement.

On the top, the four gerudo regrouped. From their vantage point, on the other side of the curtain wall, they were able to view the majority of the Worship District. They could see peoples homes, the sanitarium, churches, a small statue park, monasteries and covenants, a pilgrim hostel, the orphanage as well as their targeted location, the Temple of Time, which was looming over the other structures. As expected due to it being so late, almost nobody was out on the streets. Nonetheless, there were still a few guards roaming random paths, which the trespassing women would need to avoid if they wanted to successfully complete their top-secret assigned mission.

"There-..." The raqīb pointed out. "That's the Temple of Time."

After taking another quick look around, the commanding gerudo noticed that there wasn't another rope leading down inside of Castle Town. She grit her teeth and clenched her hands into fists while trying to figure out what to do next.

"Psst!" Someone tried getting their attention.

Looking at where the call came from, the group of gerudo's saw the green robed woman who had assisted them by tying the rope and tossing the other end.

"Over here." The covert woman whispered as well as waved at them once they saw her. She was standing on the roof of a nearby home that was tall enough for her to have her upper-body poking above the battlement. "Vasaaq." Greeting them, she then explained why she did what she did. "Sorry, I couldn't risk tying another rope and I'm glad I didn't. That guard probably would've spotted it if there were two of them. Anyway, you can use this house and the woodpile they have to climb down."

"Vasaaq." The raqīb gave her salutations. "Are you ready to return home?"

Nodding vigorously, the hooded gerudo gleefully whispered. "More than ever."

"Be on your way then." The team leader gave permission for the operative to finally leave Hyrule and at long last make her way back to Gerudo City. "May the Sand Goddess watch over you."

"Sarqso." The operative thanked them, climbed up onto the wall-walk and then made her way over to the rope so she could make her escape from the City of Hyrule and its hordes of hylians. While she climbed over the battlement and descended, the other four resumed their breach of Castle Town.

As suggested by the undercover gerudo, the raqīb and three veteran jundiin used a nearby home to descend down onto the streets. The four of them hopped onto the roof as light footed as they could manage. Stealthily making their way across the slate shingles, they came to a second-story balcony which was attached to somebody's bedroom. Carefully climbing down onto it, they didn't stop for a single second. Without wasting any time, they then swung their legs over the railing and leapt onto a large stack of dried firewood. From there, all they had to do was jump down onto the ground.

The raqīb went first, then assisted the others in making a quieter landing than she had. "Sav'asha." She whispered 'good job' to them in geldik. "Now, move fast and be certain not to draw any attention from the guards. The Temple of Time is only a half a mile from here, so we should be able to do this without any trouble."

"Ma'am, yes ma'am." The three jundiin acknowledged the order in unison.

Since they were in the backyard of whoever's home they used to climb down, they had to make their way out of it. Together, they hopped the low gate to the picket fence as they didn't want to risk using any squeaky hinges. Afterward, once they came out onto the cobbled street, raqīb retrieved and popped open a golden-lidded compass. Ensuring they were traveling northeast, she led her soldiers in the direction of the Temple of Time.

"Tasin-tog." She said 'north-east' in geldik, pointing that way in advance of using the shadows as they started moving again.

Walking down the street, no matter the fact they were hiding in the darkness, they were stressed about being out in the open. If they weren't careful, a person could appear at random; be it a passing guard or a sleepy-eyed citizen coming out of their own home. Cities like this were very difficult to infiltrate without being seen by anybody at all, yet that was what their mission demanded they do.

Be it luck or misfortune on the civilian populace, the sneaky gerudo women were able to make it much further than they expected to go without finding anybody or anything in their way. Nonetheless, that changed whenever they walked by one of many narrow townhomes in this district. Despite not being a person, they were caught by a dog, who had been lying by the door of somebody's house. The Hylian Retriever had been curled up, trying to sleep, but their presence made it jerk its head up. With perked ears, the canine began to bark at the strange looking women. It didn't like their faces being covered and the way they were moving suspiciously.

"Sa'oten." The raqīb expressed her surprise. "Of all things."

Thinking as quickly as she could, she rummaged around in her pockets in advance of retrieving a snack she'd packed herself for energy. It was a flat chunk of pemmican, made with desert sun-dried animal meats, fats and dehydrated pitted dates. Without sparing any for her own consumption, she immediately lobbed it in the direction of the dog, hoping food would make it keep its mouth shut, or at least busy chewing.

"Eat that and shut up." She told the animal.

At first, the Hylian Retriever flinched at the food being thrown at it. But, as soon as it smelled the travel-ready snack, it investigated. Getting up, with its tail held high and ears still perked, it sniffed the dried sweet meat. Almost instantly, it decided to eat instead of barking.

"Dumb creature." The raqīb shook her head at the canine's ignorance prior to resuming the covert journey.

Once again, they stayed in the shadows and away from street lamps, mostly sliding across the side of buildings in order to stay out of view. Just like before, they kept their eyes peeled for any potential signs of movement. At this point, they were only a couple hundred yards from their assigned destination. The fact that they had gotten this far without being spotted was a miracle. However, it also made sense considering they were elites who had been handpicked by Lord Ganondorf to carry out this special tactics mission.

A house they went by had a candle that was lit and left out on the windowsill. Seeing how they didn't know whether somebody was there, they ducked and went beneath the window frame. They were glad they did whenever they heard a woman yawn from within the home.

They kept going onward with their clandestine activity, passing numerous buildings of assorted size and even The Sanitarium. It wasn't long after that that they ensured they were still alone. Looking back behind them, they happened to see a soft, gradually intensifying glow coming from around the corner of the street. Understanding that this was likely caused by an individual carrying a torch, they started searching for a place to hide.

Sure enough, within ten seconds, a local guardsman came walking down the cobbled path, making his usual rounds like all the others were doing. The keys on his belt jingled as he moved. Plus, as expected, he was holding a torch in order to light his way. His vision mostly stayed on the road ahead of him even though he did occasionally look side-to-side in order to examine his surroundings.

"There." The raqīb stated to her jundiin as she pointed at an exceedingly narrow alleyway which cut between a home and a library specifically for religious scholars.

Knowing that they had to move quickly, the four of them rushed down the passage. When they came out on the other side, they saw that they were on a backstreet which ran behind two strips of townhouses. Quickly sliding out of view, they hid behind one of the houses. Only the raqīb had her head poking out from around the corner so she could keep watch.

Walking down the street, the guard saw the Hylian Retriever eating the discarded pemmican, but he didn't pay the pet any attention as he assumed it had merely been fed by its owner. Instead of investigating, he yawned, shook his head to keep himself awake and then kept going an additional twenty feet. However, he did stop and it happened to be right in front of the alleyway where the gerudo were hidden. Looking around, he examined his surroundings, checking left and right to see if he saw anybody.

The raqīb hid and held her index finger up to her lips, gesturing for her jundiin to remain silent.

Following a look around, the guard pulled up his belt and then proceeded onward with his patrol route.

Staying quiet, the raqīb didn't move for a while longer. Once she was positive the hylian voe had left the area, she twirled her finger in the air before pointing back down the passage, gesturing for the other women to get ready as well as move out. After checking around to ensure they were still alone, they returned to the street by squeezing through the narrow alleyway.

Coming back out onto the cobbled road, the four gerudo double-checked their surroundings, again making sure they were alone prior to resuming their stealthy trek to the Temple of Time. Passing the aforementioned library, they could see the cathedral looming nearby. It gave them further confidence knowing that they were so close to where they needed to be. They felt motivated to keep going, to stay out of sight a little longer. With the skills they all had, they knew they were capable of doing such a thing. On the other hand, reality proved to be surprisingly spry.

"Greetings and salutations." A male voice abruptly spoke from behind the trespassing women.

"Sa'oten!" The raqīb expressed shock at being caught. Spinning around, she scrutinized the voe standing a decent distance away from them.

To the invading gerudo, the scrawny middle-aged hylian man in a purple outfit was rather odd due to his abnormally large smile. Nonetheless, neither of them had ever heard of the Happy Mask Salesman prior to now, so they simply thought he was a random civilian who happened to come across them. Considering that, the raqīb thought on her feet. Realizing that his greeting meant he didn't suspect them of being intruders, she strategically decided to act friendly in hopes of keeping the suspicion minimized.

"Hello-..." The raqīb made sure to speak hylian as she met the voe. "How are you?"

The Happy Mask Salesman smiled at the woman as he clasped his hands behind his back. "It's a lovely night."

"Uhh-… Yeah." The raqīb wondered why the stranger was bothering them. "Look, we have somewhere to be, so-..."

"Well, I just have a quick question for you." The smiling man informed them.

Shrugging, the raqīb said "Okay."

Taking a single step forward, the Happy Mask Salesman asked "Do you believe in the Golden Goddesses?"

Mentally, the raqīb was wondering what kind of strange question that was to ask a group of people that he didn't even know. On the outside, she gave a soft smile as well as a chuckle. Being that she wasn't sure if it was a test of some sort, she made sure to give the response she figured he was expecting. "Yes, of course."

"That's swell." The salesman told them with a wide smile. He then warned them. "Just so you know, you should avoid the Temple of Time during the night. It's highly guarded since the sanctuary has become accessible."

Feeling her heart pump with anxiety, the raqīb instantly became suspicious of what was said. She wondered if the grinning voe was somehow aware of their secret plans. If that was the case, they would have to swiftly eliminate him. Regardless, she'd have to be absolutely certain in advance of attacking. For now, she attempted to play it off as if she wasn't sure what he was talking about. "Huh? Oh no, we're not going to the Temple of Time. We're going home."

"Ah, I see." The Happy Mask Salesman nodded. "Then, I bid you farewell."

Giving a half-hearted wave, the raqīb turned back around and resumed walking with the others. "You too."

As the four gerudo continued traveling toward the sacred Temple of Time, they all pondered more about why the weird smiling man had stopped them. It was rather concerning that he approached them the way he did and asked the question he had. They didn't like him, nor did they trust him. But, seeing how he didn't appear to be a threat or realize that they were invaders, they were able to outright ignore him in favour of carrying onward to their destination. Disposing of him would've been more difficult anyway.

Nevertheless, the Happy Mask Salesman's wide smile gradually turned into an eerie frown as he watched the group of gerudo's go precisely where they said they wouldn't.

Making it to the end of the cobbled street, the sneaky soldiers came out onto a wider road which led directly to their assigned location. Turning right, they could see the Temple of Time in its full grandeur a mere hundred feet ahead of them. Despite the chance of a lifetime, none of them had the opportunity to admire the ancient hylian structure as they were too focused on fulfilling their mission.

Looking back, they didn't see any guards nor were they followed by the creepy smiling man. Because of that, all four of them felt comfortable with sprinting the rest of the short distance.

Staying silent, they soon came upon the stone steps which led up to the raised foundation the cathedral was built upon. One final time, they examined their surroundings, checking the nearby vicinity to make sure they hadn't been spotted or followed. When they confirmed they were still undetected, they ascended the staircase.

The raqīb stopped her jundiin and quickly ducked the moment she spotted three guardsmen who were hanging out by the entrance of the temple. Communicating with gestures, while staring at the other women on her team, she held her palm up so they knew she wanted them to cease moving. Then, she pointed toward the entry with her thumb, held up three fingers and feigned holding a spear in order to let them know that there were three hylians with weapons.

All three of the jundiin acknowledged what she was indicating.

Nodding, the raqīb then held her index finger to her lips. Pretending to pick up a rock, she gestured how she would throw it and then used her fingers to inform them of how the guards would investigate. Afterward, she pointed at two of the jundiin before pointing toward where this would happen. Then, she motioned as if she was attacking. She hoped they'd understand what she was going to do.

Again, the three jundiin nodded to acknowledge the order. They understood that their team leader wanted them to subdue the men whenever they came to check out the sound.

"I need to take a leak." One of the guard's up front by the entrance of the Temple of Time stated.

"Just hurry up." Another hylian replied to the first. "You know we're not supposed to leave our post."

Seeing a chance to have less sentries to take out, the raqīb waited, allowing the bladder-swollen guardsman to slowly amble around the corner of the Temple of Time. Whenever he was gone, she carried out her plan. Picking up a nearby rock, she took aim at the reflection pool. Once thrown, the pebble flew through the air prior to making a loud kerplunk noise whenever it struck the water.

"Huh?" One guard said.

"What was that?" The other added.

Readying their spears, both of the hylian guardsmen fell into the trap. They chose to leave their post in order to investigate what had made the noise. Moving away from the front doors of the cathedral, they came around the path intersecting the reflection pool until they approached the spot where the rock had caused a small splash. With their backs turned to the stone steps, they glanced down into the water to try and figure out what had happened.

The raqīb repeatedly waved her hand in a directional manner, ordering two jundiin to make their moves.

Seizing the moment, the two selected gerudo stood up and tip-toed to the top step. Even with their robes, they were more than agile enough to cross the gap between them and both the hylians. They summersalted over to the guardsmen and quickly slammed their heads together. Not giving them the opportunity to recover, they then kneed both hylian's kidneys followed by pushing them into the reflection pool where the two guys collided against the stone tiling and were immediately rendered unconscious.

The raqīb, seeing that her plan worked, stood up, ushered the last jundiin to the top step and then joined them. Moving as fast as possible since the other guard would eventually return, they ran toward the entrance of the illustrious Temple of Time.

Right before opening the door, she reminded them of their priority. "Remember. Take the Spiritual Stones and the Master Sword. Anybody who gets in the way is to be disposed of." Doing a quick charm, she placed the tips of her fingers to the spot on her chest that was over her heart and then gently tapped the foreheads of the three jundiin. "May the Goddess of Sand watch over us."

Now that they had debriefed themselves, they went to the next stage of their mission. Opening the heavy wooden doors, they swiftly entered.

Since none of the gerudo knew how many sentries were protecting the place, it's no surprise that they were caught off-guard by the guy posted on the inside. In fact, the moment they walked through the door wearing the geldik hijab and niqab, they caused alarm to the hylian. In fact, even their height made him nervous and the aura they projected gave him the sweats. He was also pretty sure they weren't citizens of Hyrule seeing how most gerudo didn't wear such veils, especially to a holy house of worship as important as the Temple of Time.

"Halt!" He ordered the women as he readied his spear. "State your identity!"

"MAN DOWN!" A voice from the outside called for assistance, likely having already found the subdued guards that had been knocked into the reflection pool. "THERE'S INTRUDERS IN THE TEMPLE, I REPEAT, INTRUDERS IN THE TEMPLE!"

The guard who was standing in front of the women went pale. His eyes widened and his grasp on his spear tightened. "Son of a-...!"

Within the blink of an eye, the raqīb skillfully threw a throwing knife directly at the guardsmen.

He didn't even have time to finish his sentence before the small blade punctured his throat. Instinctively, he grabbed at it and yanked it out. Yet, this proved to hasten his demise as he bled out faster. In only a matter of seconds, blood had filled his gurgling mouth and he let go of his spear, falling to the ground with his hands wrapped around his pierced neck. Without any way to stop the bleeding, he bled to death in less than a minute.

In the meantime, the four jundiin lifted and removed their niqab with a flourish, revealing their black halter tops, sirwals and boots. Each had their hair pulled back into a bun and had a throwing dagger bound in the center. They also had two scimitars on their hips, which they immediately proceeded to brandish.

"HEY!" The Royal Sage from the Church of The Triforce yelled out to them. "HOW DARE YOU DEFILE THIS HOLY TEMPLE BY SPILLING BLOOD! GET OUT! GET OUT NOW!"

Coming in through the entrance door were two other guards, one of which was the guy who went to relieve himself. Right away, they saw their dying friend on the ground and went into a fit of rage. Using their spears, they ran forward with the intention of impaling whichever gerudo they could catch. They didn't even care that they were outnumbered as they desperately sought revenge.

Defending themselves with near-identical movements to each other, the two jundiin gerudo who were targeted gracefully used both of their scimitars in order to grab onto the hylian's spears, thereafter slinging the polearms to the side. At the same time, the third woman leapt in between the two guardsmen and used her blade to slash at both of their weapons, snapping the wooden shafts in half.

"I'LL KILL YOU!" The guard shouted as he chucked the broken stick at them.

His partner quickly unsheathed his shortsword and ran at the third gerudo, stabbing at her.

"GET OUT!" The royal sage stepped away from the altar and defended the Temple of Time by going on the offensive. Despite not being capable of much physically, the man was able to use an electrokinesis spell. He generated a mighty bolt of lightning which shot forth from his fingertips.

The raqīb attempted to duck to avoid the sorcery, but found herself struck, getting temporarily electrocuted by the attack. While the bolt coursed through her, it caused her arms to curl inward as her muscles spasmed and forcefully retracted. Her hands gripped her jambiya tightly from being unable to release, which proved to be dangerous as she fell on top of it, causing her to be jabbed in the side with her own weapon.

Jumping out of the way, the gerudo who had been run at by the guard with the shortsword retaliated. She spun around, yanked the throwing knife from her hair bun and then launched it straight at the hylian voe. Her hair unfurled in response.

The guardsman hollered in agony whenever he took the knife in his left shoulder. Were it not for the sturdiness of his chainmail, it could've penetrated much deeper, likely even lodging deep into his flesh. Fortunately, it only drew a small amount of blood instead. Either way, it made the guy stumble back so that he could assess himself.

Using the opportunity to protect their leader from the powerful royal sage, the other two jundiin swiftly tossed their own throwing knives at him. Same as the other, their hair unrolled whenever the blades were removed.

Without the protection the sentries had from armour, the sharp knives stabbed into the royal sage's knee and chest. He cried out from the pain and even fell onto the wounded leg, causing greater injury as it made the blade slice up his kneecap. Even while seething from the anguish, he refused to give up. "YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING!" Keeping his hands lifted as well as aimed at the two gerudo, he manifested a cryokinesis blast spell, propelling frozen orbs at the women.

Both jundiin were hit in the torso by the magic. Not only did it hurt from the impact, it also exploded against their chest, severely frostbiting their exposed skin. Reacting to that, they grabbed at their breasts and abdomen, patting at what felt like gnarly burns. It momentarily stopped them, but didn't take too long to warm up again.

The raqīb managed to get back onto her feet and removed her own jambiya which was stuck in her side.

However, during then, the two enraged hylian guardsmen were able to successfully overwhelm the lone standing jundiin. The gerudo was definitely able to defend herself longer than expected. Nearly perfectly duel-wielding her scimitars, she fought off the voe. It wasn't until one of them abruptly drew their back-up dagger that she became unable to fend for herself any longer. All of a sudden, while in the middle of using her blades to block their swords, she felt herself being stabbed in the rib cage from underneath her left armpit.

She screamed and grimaced as she kicked the man away from her.

While she was injured, the second sentry took the chance to eliminate her. He ran forward and sliced her right leg, forcing her to drop to her knee. Then, as she struggled to get up, he used his shortsword to brutally hack at the side of her neck.

It only took a few swings for her carotid artery to be severed. After that, she was dead within a matter of moments.

The raqīb, seeing one of her veteran jundiin being killed, was sent into a fury. Now that she was on her feet, she dodged another electrokinesis spell from the royal sage and then threw her final throwing dagger in retaliation.

Unlike previously, he saw the knife coming at him. The royal sage made a split second decision to defend himself, throwing down an octahedron cut crystal that had a blue circular orb in the center of it. As he did so, he hollered "NAYRU'S LOVE!"

When the gemstone hit the ground, it shattered into a thousand pieces. On the other hand, doing so caused it to project a magical blue diamond-shaped forcefield that surrounded the holy man, protecting him from damage. Because of this, when the projectile hit, it made a loud clinking sound prior to being instantly deflected.

Due to the fact that the near-impervious sorcery was brief, he acted quickly. After yanking the other two knives out of him, he summoned the energy to perform a restoration spell. Raising his left hand, an orb of light manifested around it. He then placed his palm flat against the stab wounds, watching as the illumination was transferred and proceeded to instantaneously accelerate the healing process.

Inside the puncture, things moved unnaturally fast. As it faintly glowed, the torn muscles and tissues physically re-aligned themselves back into place. Fibers automatically twisted and weaved together like threads in a tapestry while blood vessels seamlessly reconnected to stop any bleeding. The skin itself then began to regenerate by pulling together from the edges of the wound. What was previously damaged shimmered as new cells regenerate in mere seconds, leaving behind smooth unbroken skin.

Right afterward, Nayru's Love flickered before the forcefield dissolved. Then again gerudo weren't currently paying the royal sage any attention. They were occupied with attacking the last two guardsmen. Working together, they focused on each individually; the raqīb taking the hylian on the left and the remaining jundiin taking the man on the right who had his shortsword as well as his dagger brandished.

Keeping the hylians apart, while the raqīb ensured that one was thoroughly distracted, the jundiin overpowered the other guardsman. He tried to defend himself by slashing at the woman on the right with his shortsword and using his dagger to keep away the woman on the left. To his dismay, they countered his maneuvers by outright blocking them. Following a swift dodge, both of the gerudo jumped backward to a safe enough distance. Then one of them flourished a spin with her curved blades held outward as if she were some sort of heat seeking razor-sharp cyclone. Doing so was not only deadly, it was also intimidating as most individuals aren't used to a person spinning at them like a madwoman.

That guardsman flinched as he tried to back up. When the oscillating gerudo got close enough, he made an attempt to stop her momentum by extending his shortsword in hopes it would catch the blades. Of course, this didn't work. Instead, he found his wrist being sliced into with such velocity that it cut straight through his flesh like paper in a storm. Making things worse, the woman's scimitar got stuck in the bone, causing him to scream in agony.

Not letting him suffer for long, the gerudo used her remaining momentum to swing her other scimitar at the voe. The weapon struck his neck, but the chainmail protected him. Regardless, she yanked her blades away from him and then quickly crossed her arms with such force that they acted like a giant pair of shears, effortlessly decapitating the guardsman.

"JAWFFRIE!" The final hylian screamed upon witnessing the demise of his teammate.

While the body of the dead guard collapsed onto the floor, his head rolled a few feet before wobbling to a stop.

Seeing such a disgustingly vile act being committed in the Temple of Time, the royal sage wanted to frenzy pyrokinetic spells until the invading gerudo were incinerated to ash. As luck would have it, he was unable to do so as he was fatigued from using the regeneration spell on himself. He had to wait for his stamina to replenish.

This didn't bode well for the final guardsman. With a look at his two dead teammates, he too wanted to go crazy and kill the intruders. But, he felt himself wanting to flee for a good reason. He knew that he needed to alert the Hyrulean Army as well as the Knights of Hyrule to enemy presence as otherwise they might escape without getting caught. Such a notion made him begin gradually backing up toward the large double doors that led out of the cathedral's nave. Except, he was eliminated the very moment that he turned around to try and make a run for it.

Seeing the last hylian retreating, the raqīb ran after him. Leaping onto him, she tackled him to the ground while also knocking his shortsword out of his hand. There on the floor of the Temple of Time, even while the voe pleaded for his life, she forcefully pulled his head up away from the ground, held it and then used her jambiya to slice his throat open.

Blood spilled out of the man's throat as he went pale and wide-eyed. The tiles around him flooded with crimson.

Summoning the willpower needed to cast again, the royal sage called on arcane magic in order to produce a special spell. Inhaling deep, as he did, he gradually raised his fingers, which produced a soft green glow. When he lowered his arms, he punched his hands out with a war cry. Like intended, the action manifested a gigantic spectral fist that had a green gue to it. This disembodied appendage proved to not be intangible either as upon flying at the gerudo women, when it struck the raqīb in the back, it hit so hard that it knocked her into the doors of the temple, making her go soaring through them where she tumbled onto the dirt path in front of the structure.

Reacting to this, the two jundiin ran toward the royal sage with the intent of killing him.

While the raqīb leaned up and rubbed her head, wincing from her stab wound, she bore witness to the women attacking the holy man. They swung their swords as if they were performing martial arts, yet they couldn't manage to land a strike on him. Every swing they made, he somehow dodged by strafing or jumping away with an unexpected amount of agility.

"Corner him!" She yelled to her subordinates as she got back onto her feet.

"THAT IS IT!" The royal sage started sweating profusely as he grew weary from casting spells too soon, from not giving his body a break or time to rejuvenate energy. Nonetheless, he refused to give up. He held his hands out with fingers spread. "YOUR TRANSGRESSIONS ARE UNFORGIVABLE AND YOU MUST BE PUNISHED!"

Another electrokinesis spell that he used summoned two lightning bolts this time, one from each hand. However, since the power was split equally, it wasn't as strong as a single would've been. Thankfully, it still worked as it shocked the remaining jundiin into submission so badly that the murderous women fell onto the bloodied ground convulsing wildly as their nervous system short circuited from being electrocuted.

Now that the raqīb had gotten back onto her feet, even though she was badly wounded, she ran to the help of her remaining squad.

Gritting his teeth, the royal sage was snarling ferociously as he viciously electrified the bodies of the two killers. Since the raqīb's movement's weren't subtle, he saw her sprinting through the nave. If he was going to react or counter her, he'd have to cease the electrokinesis. But, he knew that if he did that, he'd have two more gerudo coming after him once they recovered. For a split moment, he was torn on what to do. Fortunately, his instincts kicked in and he stopped long enough to avoid being tackled. He hopped to the side and, while dripping with sweat, he planned on lobbing a fireball right in the face of the raqīb.

Try as he might, he didn't move quick enough to avoid being clotheslined by the raqīb, who held her arm out so she could knock him over. Smashing into his throat, it not only caused him to topple, it also nearly crushed his windpipe.

Holding his throat from the pain, the royal sage desperately tried to get up before he was further assailed. Seeing the raqīb approaching as well as the two previously electrocuted jundiin arising from the floor, he knew that he had to act fast or else he'd fall victim to their twisted actions. Feeling the effects of having absolutely no endurance left, he barely managed to stand. By then, he stumbled forward and tried his best to take out the leader gerudo by tackling her like she had done to the dead guardsman. He grabbed her waist and made an attempt at using his bodyweight.

The raqīb held her ground and didn't get pushed over even though she did slide back about a foot on the bloodied temple tiles. Since she had the opportunity, she took her jambiya and proceeded to ruthlessly stab him over-and-over in the back.

He screamed as the blade sunk into his back a total of seven times. Afterward, he was taken off his feet whenever the raqīb slammed her knee into the bottom of his mouth. Not only did the kick break his jaw, it also sent him tumbling across the entire nave until he slammed into the stone wall with a loud thud.

"S-STOP!" The royal sage demanded as he rolled onto his stomach and propped himself up with his forearms. His red vital fluids dripped not only from his back, but his mouth as well. Still, he didn't give up. "YOU C-CAN'T DO THIS!"

"SHUT YOUR MOUTH!" The raqīb stomped on his multi-punctured back, making him go flat to the ground. "This is happening." She explained to the holy man with a smirk plastered on her face, receiving joy from knowing she was about to kill a member from the Church of The Triforce. "You're going to die-... and we're going to steal everything in here that isn't nailed to the floor."

"Y-You don't u-..." He stopped mid-sentence to cough up more blood. "You don't understand! You can't, you p-physically can't!" No matter how much of his own fluids filled his throat, he told them the truth. "Any further attempt to desecrate this house of worship w-will result in your demise. The Golden Goddesses will damn your souls!"

While the other two gerudo surrounded the scene to watch it unfold, the evil raqīb took her jambiya and drove it through the back of the religious hylian's fat neck, therefore ending his mortal existence as if it were a common occurrence for her. She watched as the royal sage's body reflexively quivered and then went utterly limp. She even watched the life drain from his eyes with a gleeful feeling of satisfaction. And, with an unnecessary twist of her blade to ensure he was genuinely dead, she then pulled it from his flesh and further disgraced him by wiping his blood onto his robe prior to standing up.

She laughed a hearty chortle from deep within her core. Mocking his corpse, she told him "I've disgraced your temple even more like you told me not to-..." Holding her arms out questioningly, she continued by wondering aloud "Where exactly is this punishment from your precious Golden Goddesses? I'm still here waiting and you're dead on the floor." Waving her hand as if to disregard the sage's body, she said "Whatever. Your mythical divines aren't real, so I don't expect them to smite me for enriching my lord and preventing your kind from causing mine to go extinct."

"Ma'am-..." One of the veteran jundiin remarked. "You're injured."

Kicking the dead body in the head, the raqīb reached down and used her jambiya to slice a long strip from the sage's robe. She then proceeded to wrap it around her side, tying it tight enough to stop the bleeding coming from her side. "I'm fine. It's just a flesh wound." Rubbing the back of her head from where she had hit the ground, she then ordered the women to focus on the task at hand. "Let's do what we came for. I'll collect the Spiritual Stones. You two retrieve the Master Sword and then we're going to get out of here before more voe show up to protect this shithole."

"Ma'am, yes ma'am." The jundiin acknowledged the command in advance of making their way up the ramp of the chancel, walking toward the passage which led to the sanctuary.

While the jundiin went inside the corridor, the raqīb limped to the altar where the Spiritual Stones were held. She briefly examined the parchment papers from where the royal sage had been working on deciphering ancient hylian, but quickly chose to sling it off with a swipe of her hand. Then, she took a look at the Kokiri Emerald, Goron's Ruby and Zora's Sapphire, which were embedded into slots made in the stone display. Not wasting any time, she grabbed the green stone first and found it difficult to remove, but not impossible. Following a bit of wiggling, she managed to pry it free.

At the same moment, the jundiin made it to the other side of the short passageway, coming out into the chamber where the Master Sword was held. Nobody other than them were there and sure enough, the legendary weapon hadn't been moved either; still proudly lodged in the Pedestal of Time. Feeling that they were truly going to have a chance to fulfill their mission, they were motivated to see it through until the end. Plus, they were at the easy part now that they had eliminated the local opposition.

However, the intruding women suddenly noticed something odd as they approached the center of the repository. The closer they came to the Pedestal of Time, the more a looming feeling of dread filled their hearts. Although it was dark outside and there was little light in the room, it seemed to become blurry, as if the entire sanctuary was flooded with a haze that made their vision grow foggy, their pulse increase and sweat seep from every pore on their bodies. It didn't make any sense to them as to why it was happening and since it didn't appear to pose a real threat, they treated it as if it were an illusion and ignored it.

Focusing on their training, instead of heeding the change in aura, they simply walked to their objective. Ignoring the blatant warning signs presented to them, the two gerudo ascended the ancient stone platform that had markings representing the seven Sage Medallions. They approached the Master Sword and together they hastily grabbed onto its hilt.

Obviously, the jundiin weren't able to pull the Blade of Evil's Bane from the Pedestal of Time seeing how they weren't of the hero's bloodline nor were they of pure heart. Same as with the orphans, the young enamoured couple and hundreds who have tried, it didn't so much as budge an inch no matter how hard they attempted.

Unlike those occasions, it also did something else. While in the women's hands, it began to faintly hum, vibrate and even glow a bluish hue that illuminated the entire chamber of the temple.

The gerudo let go of the Master Sword and began backing up in preparation for whatever might happen. No matter the fact that they had no clue what was transpiring, they raised their scimitars to get ready.

Although the women had already let go of the mighty sword, the magical process that was already underway proceeded onward regardless. What started out as a gentle glow began to intensify into a blinding light that was too bright for them to stare at directly. They covered their eyes, making them unable to see as the intangible luminescence transformed into a metallic grey liquid.

This ethereal fluid soon morphed further into an oddly humanoid figure which floated directly above the legendary weapon. It somehow manifested into a genuine feminine form that had a bright blue halo outline. Whenever the luminous aura decreased, what was once a silver shimmer coalesced into colours.

All of a sudden, the entity resembled a female. Although her skin was cobalt, it retained a metallic sheen. Both almond-shaped eyes, despite lacking pupils, continued to glow a whitish hue. She wore a violet flowing cape-like garment that blended seamlessly into her body, resembling a sword blade and symbolizing the connection she had to the Master Sword. The diamond jewel centered on her chest glowed alongside the triangular mark on her forehead. Her legs were clothed in stockings wrapped in green ribbon. However, from her program's advanced age, she also displayed signs of wear and tear. Numerous cracks could be seen on her face, she occasionally flickered and had scan-lines representing the degradation in her signal.

Once the two veteran jundiin got a good look, they were completely taken aback by the abrupt appearance of the ethereal data ghost. Both of them gasped as they stared intensely at the otherworldly being. Firmly holding their scimitars, they remained ready to attack at a moment's notice, yet they were cautiously unsure of how difficult it would be to take on such an entity. For all they knew, she was invulnerable.

"AWARENESS: Malicious Intentions Detected." The ghostly being spoke with a strangely mechanized voice. "ACTION: Defense Protocols Engaged - SACRED FLAME." She lifted her hand, pulling her arm out from beneath her cloak. As she did, she said "STATEMENT: I am Fi, the spirit of the Master Sword. You: gerudo-…. have desecrated this holy temple and you must be punished."

Even though the spirit appeared to be aging, she was still capable of performing one of her primary functions; one of which was protecting the Master Sword from those that are a considerable threat to it. Her sorcery was pulled straight from the energy in the powerful relic itself. From the palm of her hands three balls of flames were emitted, each a different colour to resemble the Golden Goddesses.

The red, blue and green orbs were swiftly propelled toward the gerudo jundiin faster than they could react to the attack. Since they couldn't dodge it, they tried using their scimitars to deflect it. Regardless, the orbs had no issue passing by the blades and impacting with a fiery explosion. When they struck, they instantaneously caused the women to combust in a holy inferno that incinerated them so fast that they didn't even have the opportunity to do anything other than let out a brief shriek of painful horror. It was so hot that their skin turned to a flakey blackened paper and all the moisture in their bodies evaporated from the divine heat.

Both fell over dead and their remains smoldering.

In the meantime, the raqīb, who was currently in progress of stealing the Zora's Sapphire, heard the short screams of her soldiers. She raised her head to look down the passageway which led to the sanctuary, only to gaze upon the sword spirit materializing directly in front of her.

Fi cocked her head as she stared angrily at the invader. "STATEMENT: Shame on you."

"What the fu-..." The raqīb attempted to remark on the sudden presence of the entity.

The final gerudo couldn't even finish her sentence as before she was able to do so, she heard a loud whooshing sound. Not getting a chance to figure out what it was, the Master Sword, which had somehow come out of the Pedestal of Time, came flying into the nave where it effortlessly phased through the ethereal guardian. It was traveling so fast that it took the raqīb off of her feet when it stabbed her through the chest, making her drop the burlap bag she held with the two stolen Spiritual Stones. She soared to the other end of the room, where she was impaled onto the wall next to the heavy double wooden doors.

"T-This-..." The raqīb spoke with blood oozing from her nostrils and the sides of her mouth. "This can't-... it can't be." Feeling her life force fading as her body gave out, she grabbed onto the Master Sword and tried to remove it. Unfortunately, it just burned her hands so badly that she screamed for a few seconds in advance of going limp. With one last exhale, she said "I-… I failed you, my lord."

Fi continued to float above the altar as a scanline went from her head to her toes. She stared at the deceased raqīb. Before long, she glanced at the corpses of the hylian guardsman as well as the royal sage. "QUERY: What has happened to this world?"

After that, the sword spirit began to glow a bright whitish-blue. Her colours seemed to vanish and her features became less defined. Within a second, her once feminine-form loosened into an amorphous gleaming metallic fluid. Like a genie being sucked back into its lamp, once the guardian returned to an intangible light, its wispy body was drawn to the Master Sword no matter it being stuck in a dead gerudo's chest. She made it temporarily glow as she returned to the Light Force within the Blade of Evil's Bane.

Following one last sentence, she vanished. "OBJECTIVE: Find Master Link."

.

.

TO BE CONTINUED

.

.

.

---

Author's Note: Ten years! Can you believe it? This story has been in the making for ten years! But, now it's finished. Thank you to everybody who read it start to finished and especially those who stuck around this whole time. Your encouragement is greatly appreciated.

.

My next objective is to revise the entire story and then, at long last, post under complete!