Fan Fiction ❯ The Legend of Zelda: Facade of the Living ❯ Death Concedes to Timeless Love ( Chapter 9 )

-Tainted hearts should receive no sympathy from those free of evil. A heart spoiled by the blackness is corrupted and defies the Goddesses.

Magic powers thought to be long forgotten in the ancient Gerudo scrolls have resurfaced, reeking havoc on innocent souls..

This magic has the power to control not only rational thought, but one's very essence as well. Those whose hearts are filled with blackness soon succumb to the powerful voices in their subconscious minds and lose all forms of their original selves.

However, this evil is not set in stone. There exist many paths in life and none are written down permanently. Those paths give way to a light, which has the power to restore the goodness back into the hearts of the corrupted.

Though the journey can be taken, the burden is rarely shouldered. It is up to the will of the tainted to seek out the light and vanquish the magic dwelling deep inside one's heart…



Chapter Nine: Death Concedes to Timeless Love


In the barracks of the Gerudo Fortress

There was nothing but darkness here. It abhorred the light and gave rise to the shadows. Evil men and women lived out their dismal lives in placed such as this.

Nothing at all could be seen. Around every corner of this bleak dungeon there lay nothing but a murky shade of black. To walk this path at night was that only reserved for the senses of a great warrior, for their acute senses only were strong enough to depict the image of the dungeon in their minds.

This was no problem for her though. She nimbly bobbed and weaved through the twists and turns that would be invisible, and therefore deadly, to a normal person. Her footfalls made no sound as she slowly crept across the tile floor of the Gerudo Fortress.

Suddenly, the girl stopped outside a doorway. Crudely etched into the bark of the door were a few Gerudo characters.

They spelled out the name "A'lto".

She pressed her hand onto the door and slowly opened it. A solitary wax candle in the corner vaguely lit the room inside. The room was stacked from floor to ceiling with boxes of weapons, and the bed in the corner was hardly enough to fit a small child comfortably. Everywhere was the foul smell of dust and gunpowder, combined with the strange odor of rusted iron. Cobwebs served as the room's only real décor, making it look like a storage closet.

In fact, it was a storage closet.

A'lto cringed as she looked at her new residence. She had been living here for a week now and this was the second time she walked through these doors. Since her arrow had failed to destroy Link, she was stripped of her luxurious living arrangements and was thrust into a storage closet until her worth as a fighter was redeemed.

"Gorkhan, you may think you have the upper hand but do not for a single minute believe that I am content with the treatment my sisters and I receive," she quietly said to herself.

Just as she was settling in, a voice was heard behind a box of arrows.

"Are we whispering to ourselves?" it said.

The Gerudo was startled, and jumped almost a mile high.

"Who's there?! Show yourself or prepare to die!" A'lto threatened, brandishing the closest knife she could find.

"Do not be so hasty young Gerudo, I come bearing advice as well as information," the voice calmly said. "Please, sit down and we shall get to work,"

"Show yourself and I might let you live," A'lto sneered to the hidden informant.

The girl had a very awkward feeling about this. She could not tell what race her mystery guest was, as well as the gender. Neither was she content on the lack of information about her opponent. At least the mystery person had little background on her as well, which evened the stakes.

"A'lto, you have disgraced yourself in the eyes of Gorkhan. He is not pleased with you, as is obvious, considering your new arrangements," said the voice.

The assassin was in awe. She had kept her failure a secret between her sisters and King Gorkhan. Of course, her sisters would not voice anything of this failure, and Gorkhan would not like to relive the debacle.

"Do not be so shocked my dear. I told you from the beginning, I come bearing information. Some which have never been disclosed to the public at large…" the voice slyly began.

"What is it you want in return? Nothing is free, you know?" A'lto replied.

"I wish nothing but your co-operation, and your time."

"We shall see. But only after I hear these "valuable secrets"."

The Gerudo girl was quickly growing impatient. A'lto intended to force the knowledge out of whoever was speaking to her. She silently crept to her bed and reached for her bow. If the intruder were to bear any part of the body, A'lto would be sure to buy enough time to discover the identity of this shadowed character.

"Please, set your weapon down. I do not approve of bloodshed," said the voice.

"As you wish," the girl answered. She reluctantly set her bow on the cold floor and tried to catch a glimpse of how her plot was given away.

She came up empty.

"Now, my poor belittled Gerudo, it seems your talents are being misused in this army. I have something that might persuade you to seek new employment…"

A'lto listened intently to the words of the stranger. She was eager to find the secrets that would help her defy the sworn oath of allegiance to Gorkhan. Even beforehand, A'lto had despised Gorkhan for the way he treated his people. He was no different than Ganondorf, a twisted man who cared nothing for the living beings around him and wanted only personal glory. It would not take much for A'lto to betray her master.

She was well on her way with that already.









Ravine outside Goron City

Link froze in mid-jump, thousands of feet in the air, as the powder from the Deku Nut scorched his eyes. He twisted quickly to try and snag hold of something that would slow down, if not, stop his fall.

Unfortunately, there was nothing.

It seemed Jade had picked this spot exactly. The boy was not nearly as naïve as he had first seemed. The young warrior had slowly bided his time until he came upon the chance to eradicate the only obstacles in his way.

The Renegades were gone, and were probably dead. Zelda had been taken captive, and now Link was about to fall to his death from the top of Death Mountain.

Link's heart sank as he plummeted over the cliff towards the pointed rocks at the bottom of this ravine. Images flashed before his eyes as he came to embrace his defeat.

His finding of the Kokiri Sword, the first blade he had ever held in his hands. The journey through the Deku Tree with all its dangers, then having to leave his best friend Saria. Link's visions quickly jumped to Zelda. He remembered his first time meeting her in Hyrule Castle when he creeped up on her in the garden as she stealthily ease-dropped on Ganondorf's conversation with her father. Zelda's smile was the first and only thing he saw. So young, so beautiful, and yet she was royalty and his dreams would never come true.

Link remembered the alternate future, where she was captured by Ganondorf. On that day, he vowed to find Zelda, rescue her, and proclaim his undying love.

But mortal plans and the will of the Goddesses never seem to get along well together. Link had rescued her numerous times and faced many perils, but he was still never brave enough to tell her his feelings until recently.

Link snapped back to reality as a single thought crossed his mind.

"I've got to stay alive..."

He would not let himself die without seeing her at least one more time. Never would he let her live in the arms of her oppressors. Slamming his sword hard into the cliff side, Link desperately tried to penetrate the granite stone.

But his efforts were to no avail. Link's fall slowed only a bit, and he was drawn him further to the left. Reaching inside his magic pouch for the hookshot, a terrible memory snapped to his mind. It was stolen from him when Gorkhan's Death Knights had robbed him.

Then Link knew he was going to die. Tears started to flow as he whispered a prayer to the faeries, a prayer to see his beloved Zelda one more time. It was a prayer of life, a prayer of love. He jammed the Blade of Evil's Bane hard into the cliff, forcing it deep into the cliff wall. Link yelled in triumph as it stuck firmly into the volcanic rock formation. In an instant, his will was restored and he was ready and willing to search out Jade and make him pay for what he had done.

And yet, the ordeal was far from over.

Though it seemed the Hero of Time's luck had held up, his prayers heard, and his love for Zelda too strong for death to conquer, it would not last for very long.

Indeed the Master Sword was imbedded in the rock, but the pressure of the stop was too much for him.

His hand slipped off the hilt, sending him flying far from the sacred blade. Sharp rocks surrounded his only platform of hope. A single, lonely outward formation jutted from the rocks, protruded just barely enough for him to reach.

Link tried to guide his fall to the platform, and for a moment it seemed as if he would make it. Unfortunately, he misjudged the distance by a wide margin. His head bounced hard off a spire just above the formation. Link back-flipped in mid-air and could no longer see where he was going.

The hero hit with a dull thwap as he slammed into the hard, flat canyon floor, barely missing the pointed rocks. For him, it felt as if his entire body had been pummeled, then torn asunder. Everything inside was broken, and there was no way he could ever hope to move. Link's vision was clouded with blackness and fleeting visions of his lovely Zelda.

Now he was truly done for.









Deep in the Gerudo Fortress

Jade walked proudly around with the Gilded Sword set firmly against his shoulder. He passed a Gerudo woman who glared at him with contempt as deep as a bottomless pit. The Sheikah and the Gerudo races never once had an instance where one trusted the other, and it surely would not happen anytime soon. The boy scoffed and walked on into the wide chamber. He opened the door where, upon stepping in, was immediately confronted by a Gerudo he new all too well.

It was the assassin, So'Prano. She was in his face immediately with a leer as deadly as his. And in a flash, she engulfed him in her arms and shouted aloud in a scream of triumph.

"You did it kid! I would never have believed you could kidnap that smarmy princess and finish off that menace Link!" the young woman bubbled.

In a fraction of a second, the boy had become irked beyond his limits of self-control.

"Put me DOWN!" the Sheikah exclaimed.

So'Prano was thrown hard into a wall as Jade's magic started to flare from his hand. It was insulting and humiliating to be knocked around like a rag doll. The Gerudo held her aching back and propped herself up against the sandstone wall, glaring hard at the evil little Sheikah.

In the background, Gorkhan was clapping loudly. He sat grandly on his throne, surrounded by his many servants.

The man in front of him bore little or no resemblance to the great Ganondorf. King Gorkhan was quite a bit taller than his predecessor has been, but was much lankier. He did not seem to have as much muscle as Ganondorf did, and certainly was much thinner. His skin was tanned the sun-baked color of the Gerudo people, but his hair was jet black, a trait uncommon amongst his race. Neither was his nose as large and pointed as Ganondorf's had been, but his eyes were just as sunken and brooding as the former king's had been.

Indeed, he was a human, his ears being fat and rounded, not slender and pointed like the Hylians. But he was a powerful human, one who could lift a hundred men or so with ease. This trait ran in the blood of all Gerudo males, which is why they were feared so much. To add to that, the dark magic that was ingrained into them at an early age made them incredible sorcerers, ones that no one dared to stand up against.

When Hyrule tried to rein him in, Ganondorf brought war to the citizens of Hyrule.

Gorkhan would do the same.

He was a man trying to prove himself. Gorkhan was trying to make himself better than the one who had come before him.

Jade could see it in the way he looked. The boy could see the same raw ambition that Ganondorf possessed, the evil kind that wrecks lives and destroys counties.

Of course, the Sheikah reveled in it. He hated the Hylians anyway, and Gorkhan was surely the way to get his revenge for the death of his parents.

The Gerudo King stood up and walked over to his minions.

"Now my boy, what shall we do with the Princess?" he asked of Jade.

"I think I should have the privilege of killing her. After all I did capture her…" the Sheikah started before being interrupted.

"We can't do that! If we kill her now, then we can't claim the Trif…" So'Prano started to say before being knocked to the cold stone floor by her king.

"Did I give you permission to speak, wretch?!" Gorkhan said between his teeth.

Jade smiled and laughed at the abuse his evil master had given to the Gerudo assassin. This was his destiny, to be at Gorkhan's side as the King of Thieves took the sacred Triforce from the hands of those who held it. Something was on his mind though as he watched the Gerudo woman run out of her king's sight. The Sheikah knew where the Triforces of Wisdom and Courage were, but he had no clue as to the location of the third piece.

With out all three pieces, there was nothing to profit from this venture.

His ponderings were ended when Gorkhan began speaking again.

"I've grown tired of the Hylians thumbing their noses at us," said the Gerudo King. "We have nothing of value here, that's why we steal. If we didn't, then there'd truly be nothing left for us here."

"Is there no worth at all to this land, my lord?" the boy asked.

"What value is there in a desert?!" Gorkhan answered. "The wind has eroded every last inch of precious soil from the earth. We are forced to buy our food from Hyrule as if we were dogs begging for scraps. There are no rupees here, and so we must make pottery from the sand to barter with them."

"Now I see clearly, my lord. The Hylians are a wicked people," Jade replied.

"That they are, and if Harkinian will not give us what we want, then we shall take it from him…"

Gorkhan led the boy over to the nearest window, and showed him the ethereal beauty of the moon rising over the desert. The Colossus in the background was silhouetted against the pale disk, partially obscured by the sandstorms whipping across it on the other side of the Haunted Wasteland.

"Dear boy, if we were to end the life of young Zelda now, the whole plan would collapse. We need her still, and I want you to guard her for the time being. When you are properly trained, the whole Hylian Empire will beg for your forgiveness! Very soon, we shall storm Hyrule Castle, and you will be at my side!"

"My king, I am honored to serve you," Jade humbly said.

The laughs given off by the two were loud enough to echo throughout the entire palace and even reach down to the murky dungeons below.









Inside the Gerudo Fortress's dungeon

She could hear the footsteps quite clearly.

That alone was enough to tell her they were not the silent steps of a Gerudo. She tried to get a view of this unknown trespasser who was coming into the dungeon.

Of course, she had no power over anyone who happened down the dark corridor. The woman was bound in a cell of her own and strapped hard against a wall by strong steel chains. In the dim light she could see the glint of the metal shackles holding her in place. No longer would she struggle against them, as mortal hands could not hope break them.

Frantically, she looked around her cell for something that was reachable, but there was nothing.

The only items in this dank place were a steel tin on which her food was brought into her, and a few scattered bones.

She shuddered to herself, wondering if she too would end up sharing the fate of the poor fool whose life was wasted in this dungeon. Her eyes made their way up to the cracked ceiling of the jail and let out a long sigh. It was too high to reach even with her arms free, and again she was thrown into despair.

Her gaze fell back down and she noticed movement near the cell across from her in the flickering torchlight. The door opened, and a tall, blonde haired man threw an unconscious Hylian girl into the cell.

It was the traitor, Basse. He locked the door, then immediately turned and walked away, leaving several Gerudo to guard the cell.

Another person soon entered, a young man with white hair and red eyes, a Sheikah warrior. He struck up a dialogue with the Gerudo guards, and made several vulgar insults about the unconscious lady, which made them laugh. The Sheikah walked over to the bars and took hold of them. Dark purple energy emitted from his hands and swept over the iron bars. They flashed brightly three times, then returned to their original, drab gray.

Looking confident, he told the two Gerudos that they could leave for the night, then he was gone, disappearing back into the corridor.

A few minutes later, the young woman groggily sat up.

The gentle lady could not have been a warrior, as she looked too frail, and rather scrawny compared to a full-bodied Gerudo woman. She had the looks suited more for a beauty queen than a real soldier of Hyrule. Probably this Hylian would not have enough muscle on her to fight off a Deku. Her garments were too high class for that of a peasant. Besides, what would the "mighty" Gorkhan need with one of such low social position?

Suddenly, she realized who the captive girl was.

It was Zelda, Princess of Hyrule.

Nabooru then smiled to herself. If she could get a moment alone with the Princess, it could be possible to coerce Zelda into helping her fellow captive Gerudo escape. Princess Zelda had a way with words, and would be a valuable addition to her little gang.

All Nabooru had to do was get out of her chains.


*****


Weapons were strewn about everywhere. Long swords, broad swords, axes, bows and arrows, boxes of bombs, and many other weapons used against the forces of light. Most of them were covered in dust, not having been used in years, but many of the modern weapons were shining in the dim light. Sitting in the midst of all these mass produced instruments of evil was Trebla', the General of Gorkhan's forces.

Or rather, the former general.

Since his forced retreat in the Zora's Domain, Trebla' had taken to training and forcing himself past all of his physical and mental limitations. The door to enter the war room had been bolted shut from the outside and Gorkhan had commanded Trebla' to remain in captivity until he was able to break down the door on his own power.

The dungeons and jails were so full of prisoners, that this was the only place Gorkhan could stick him.

Trebla' didn't mind, it just gave him the chance to hone all of his skills. For days, the general forced himself to endure the most horrifying tests of strength and endurance. All the while he vowed to get his revenge on Link, and win his position back from whoever had taken his place beside Gorkhan.

The Gerudo King was his ticket to the power that he craved so badly. He needed that strength behind him, otherwise his dreams of glory would go unfulfilled.

Trebla' raised his hand to his face and touched his scar given to him by his ultimate enemy. He would make sure to pay the hero back for this. No one got away with disgracing Trebla' in front of his army. Slowly, Trebla' would bide his time until the day would come when he would meet with the forces of good again. When he and Link battled again, it would be Trebla' who emerged victorious.

The only difference is that Link would not walk away with just a scar. The Hero of Time would be lucky to walk away at all.









Back on the ledge above the ravine

The blood was everywhere.

It was all over the rock formations jutting out from the face of the cliff. The smell was unmistakable amidst the aromas of the bomb flower powder and brimstone that normally surrounded the gigantic volcano. The blood was not dry, seeming to be very recent since the red life force was drained out of whatever body had shed it.

Toriyu had heard the screams himself. Grappling down the side of the rock face, he sniffed the crimson colored stones. His keen sense of smell picked up on certain factors about the stains. It seemed that they were ridden with the stench of Deku powder, sweat, and tears, even though the thunderstorm had washed much of it away.

His sensitive Tokay nose picked up on this immediately.

A special race of intelligent reptiles, they lived only on a small island off the coast of Labrynna. Tokays had always possessed a highly advanced sense of smell. Toriyu was especially skilled in the art of aroma detection. He had been in the area for little more than two minutes searching for the rare bomb flowers to trade back home before his nose sprang to attention at the sticky sweet odor of blood. His senses told him it was Hylian blood right away, and from the amount lost, it had to have been a long fall. The direction the blood from the point of first impact to the end of the trail shifted far off from a straight down course, this told him that the wounded must have fallen at a great speed and on a very odd angle.

It was only at the point the blood trail ended that Toriyu noticed something that was out of sorts.

There appeared to be a sword imbedded deep into the hard rock surface of the mountain. It glistened in the daylight sun like a glorious beacon. Athough the faint residue of a monster's entrails was heavy on the blade, which meant it had been through some tough battles, it was not scarred in any way.

Toriyu grappled towards the sword, being careful not to snag his line on the sharp spikes jutting from the walls.

"Ahh, this should definitely fetch a high price,"he thought to himself greedily.

He hooked firmly onto the wall and ripped the blade out of the stone. As soon as he freed the weapon, Toriyu thought his arms would be torn from their sockets. The sword was impossibly heavy, weighing a million pounds at least, the tip pointing straight at the ground. The strain on his muscles was absolutely incredible, and he felt the valuable sword slipping from his grasp. Finally, he could take no more, and the sword fell from his hands and down to the canyon floor far below.

The priceless sword clanged loudly, and he feared it might well have shattered.

It was at that moment did Toriyu realized where all the blood had come from.

A young Hylian lay at the bottom of the ravine, his broken form stiff and unmoving. There was a small puddle of thick crimson blood oozing from a wound in his right side. His green tunic had rips and tears all along the back, most likely from the treacherous fall. Upon closer inspection, Toriyu found that the injured man was still breathing. As the Tokay edged his way onto the solid surface, he rolled the youth over and shielded him from the light rain that was still falling.

Immediately, Toriyu started to treat him with some herbs he had received in a trade near Kokiri Forest. He ground them into a fine powder, then mixed them with Lava Juice, a Goron specialty, to create a powerful healing potion.

Tokays had no currency known to date. They conducted their bargains through trades and services. Since Toriyu was one of the only Tokay to ever cross the water to the mainland, he was well known. He always carried many types of herbs, weapons, and currency in case he had come across a rare oddity that he absolutely needed to have. What brought him to the mountain was the knowledge of Bomb Flowers. They were rare on his native Crescent Island, and if Toriyu were to bring some back, he could make a killing in deals.

The wounded lad stirred slightly as he suddenly regained consciousness.

In a flash, he grabbed Toriyu by the throat with one hand while picking up the razor sharp sword with the other. Only a few inches separated the Hylian and the lizard man, their faces nearly touching. The Hylian's eyes were filled with deep pain and suffering. Not the pain of the scars that now adorned his body, but another type of hurting.

What that pain was, Toriyu did not know, but he had an idea after the raging man spoke.

"Where is ZELDA!?"









Eve ning: In a tent outside Kakariko Village

Wrapped in bandages, Link quietly gazed down at the Master Sword in his hands. It was one of the many things he'd taken for granted in his life. In many ways, the sacred blade was the only thing he could trust. Link's head was swirling with emotions as he tried to contemplate what had gone wrong and how he could fix his life.

His was a life that had certainly never been easy.

Link had never met his real family. Next to nothing was known about his mother, and even less about his father. It was said that his father had died as a Knight of Hyrule in the Fierce War, but even that was just a rumor. His mother had fled from the fires of the war during its last days, and was wounded severely by the enemy while escaping.

She had stumbled into the Lost Woods, and from there found her way into Kokiri Forest. It was there, at the base of the Great Deku Tree where she finally died, holding the infant Link in her arms.

As a boy, he was taunted for being different, because he was the only Kokiri without a fairy.

Then he learned he was actually a Hylian, something he had never expected. It forced him to adopt a newer, harder way of life, different than that of the fancy-free Kokiri. Years of slaying demons and monsters had taken their toll, and there were times that Link felt nearly broken in half by them. It was during those times that the symbol of the Triforce on the back of his left hand shined the brightest.

He had saved Zelda before, in all the ways that a person can be saved, and would do it again this time.

Link snapped out of his deep reflection when the lizard man asked him a question.

"So you're saying you fell off the cliff?" Toriyu inquired.

"Well…yes, but at the same time, no. I was tricked into falling off the cliff," Link sullenly replied.

"How can anyone be so stupid as to fall of a cl…"

Toriyu stopped quickly as he saw his companion's eyes. They shone with not tears this time, but a feeling of pure hatred.

Link was engrossed in recollection of what had happened to him early that day. Toriyu knew very little of the encounter which nearly led to this lad's ultimate demise. Once his wounds were patched up and once he had regained a sense of where he was, the young man wanted nothing more but to strike out again.

"I have to get started. If you value your life, then it's best you leave. It's not safe to be around me," said the Hero of Time sharply.

What had he meant by that, and who was this Zelda that he was so obsessed with that he was willing to kill? It couldn't be the Princess Zelda. The Hylian in front of Toriyu was a peasant and she was royalty. No romantic interests could ever possibly blossom from that.

Of course, Toriyu didn't know the truth. He probably never would if Link got his way.

"You know," the lizard man started, "it isn't safe for you to travel alone. Maybe I should follow you until your wounds heal completely."

The broken hero looked up at him and shook his head silently.

"No. You must not get involved with me. It will just end up in more pain," Link said without emotion.

This was the last thing he said before he rolled over and drifted into a deep sleep. His dreams soon interested Toriyu as he solemnly watched over Link as he slept throughout the night.









Outside Kakariko Village: the next day

"I told you, I don't want you following me!" Link yelled to the Tokay.

"I'm not following you though," Toriyu began. "I just happen to be going to the same place."

"Really? Then where are you heading?"

"Uh…"

The Hero of Time sighed heavily. He could hardly remember anymore how it was that he got roped into this insane quest. Link wasn't a babysitter or a mediator, and having the Renegades and the Princess with him all the time to watch over had hindered his sense of danger. The hero had always worked much better with only himself, his sword, and his fairy partner. It was times like these that truly made him miss Navi, however much of a loudmouth she may have been.

But nowadays Zelda was his partner, and that was more than adequate. Plus it was infinitely more pleasant than listening to a glowing ball of light all day.

Link turned back towards the lizard man following behind.

"Understand something, this isn't going to be a short trip. There will be dangers the likes of which you have never seen before," said the hero sarcastically. "I advise you to just forget that you met me."

The Tokay chuckled heartily at this, as he knew that would be next to impossible.

"I think I can handle myself," said Toriyu. "Even I have read the legends about the one who wields the power of evil's bane. No sir, Master Link, I don't think anyone would ever forget about someone like you!"

Link took a minute to look over the reptilian Tokay. He wasn't suited for battle, and if a struggle erupted he would be a burden. Toriyu would be just another distraction to look out for, deluding Link's attention from the tasks at hand. The Tokay was a merchant not a warrior, however, he did happen to carry a lot of bombs on his person. Never one to be subtle, Link could surely use them to his own advantage. If things needed to be blown up, then this Tokay would surely be the one to do it, and he did owe Toriyu a favor for saving his life after all.

In the end, the hero was forced to give in to the peddler's insistence. As much as Link wanted for Toriyu to abandon his plan to follow along, it was not his decision. Whether or not he would be useful was something only the ordeal to come would tell.

"If there is trouble, you hide!" Link said matter-of-factly.

"No problem," Toriyu replied. "Tokays are known for their excellence in stealth. You won't even know I'm there I'll be so stealthy…"

The small, eccentric lizard man was almost too cheery for Link to handle. Here was another one of those times where the Triforce of Courage started shining really bright.

"I hope I don't regret this..."the hero thought as he retrieved the Ocarina of Time from his magic pouch.

Gesturing for Toriyu to hold on to his leg, Link expertly played the slow, depressing melody that was the Requiem of Spirit.

In a flash of orange light that seemingly radiated from nowhere, they disappeared and were well on their way to the Spirit Temple.









Inside Goron City

Everywhere, rocks surrounding poor Zeta's view.

She couldn't see anything beyond the great slabs of rock that now encased her in a prison of granite and boulder. As she lifted her arm, a shard of a giant boulder suddenly fell across her, trapping the Zora underneath. It happened each time she lifted another body part, the second it moved another piece of rock would stop her movement, as if the stones were alive in some way.

Which it was, the mighty Gorons had found Zeta strewn across the rocks atop the mountain alone. She was bleeding profusely, and it seemed her body was in tatters. Her left shoulder was dislocated and her right arm was broken in three different places. Zeta had bruised her forehead and shattered three of her ribs.

It did not look good for the young Zora warrior.

Luckily none other than Darunia had been the one to find this young maiden of blue complexion. He hoisted her upon his mighty shoulder and brought her to the Goron medical facility. He quickly treated her wounds with a salve sold by a rather curious Tokay who disappeared back into the mountains soon after.

Darunia would have asked what was so important if he was not worried about Zeta's life.

"Please, stop squirming around. Your body hasn't gotten used to the pain quite yet," Darunia calmly said, his voice sounding soft and gentle.

Zeta brushed his arms aside and calmly sat up, then scanned the chamber. It was a square room filled with many medical items to aid in emergencies, and of course, two or three cots for non-Goron patients to lie in. Since everything was made of different types of stone, Zeta assumed she was inside the Goron City once again. She tried to stand but the intense, shooting pain would not allow her to hold herself up.

The archer tumbled forward and awaited her imminent crash to the floor.

She did not slam into the cold granite surface as expected. Darunia's gigantic arm reached out and grabbed her before she fell. The Goron chieftain had been watching over her throughout the night and had just saved her from a painful slip. Zeta must have been extremely light headed to have missed the fact that Darunia was not even three feet from her bed.

Although Darunia did seem to blend in with the background, being the same color as the walls.

"W..w..what happened?" Zeta replied, sounding very confused.

"I was hoping you could tell me," the Goron said back. "From the looks of it you were in a battle. You banged your head up on the wall, then you must have lost consciousness…"

Darunia looked very forlorn, almost like he couldn't tell her what had happened to her friends.

"We couldn't find any other members of your party. There's…there's blood all down the sides of the cliff," he said, his voice trembling almost.

In an instant, her pounding headache and various other problems had dissolved into nothing. Rage coursed through her, and she shot back up to her feet.

"JADE!" Zeta screamed, spitting out a few drops of blood.

Her quickly injuries caught up with her, and she collapsed back onto the floor. Darunia took his place at her side once more. He propped her up and gazed at her in a fatherly manner.

"Tell me what happened," Darunia asked.

Even then, the Goron leader already had a good idea who the culprit was.

"He did this! That little weasel knocked Gonga and Dreck over the cliff, and then kidnapped the Princess!" the Zora exclaimed.

Darunia was struck with grief. He had lost not only his true brother, but Zelda was now missing and Link was nowhere to be found. Gorons had searched the whole area of Death Mountain, but discovered absolutely nothing that would point to their whereabouts.

"I think Link got away, he dove after Jade and…" Zeta started as she caught the horrified look on Darunia's face.

"What is it?" she asked, befuddled for a moment.

"Link was facing the cliff when he jumped," Darunia replied, his voice tight and rigid with fear.

"Yes, Jade and Zelda were there at the edge when Link…OH NO!"

Zeta started to cry into her hands as she realized where the blood on the cliff must have come from. In her eyes, the greatest hero the land of Hyrule had ever seen was dead and cold. In the depths of her psyche the Zora could see his body at the bottom of the ravine, torn and snapped. The bodies of her friends, Dreck and Gonga, were not far away, lying amidst the cracked boulders where they had landed.

This was something Zeta would not accept. Indeed, she could not accept it, and immediately went into denial.

"It doesn't mean it was Link's blood! It could have been anyone's!" Zeta started to ramble, trying to find some explanation. "He…he can't die! Gorkhan can't win! Link is…he's invincible!"

The Goron leader quickly brought her back to reality.

"We also found deep marks from a blade," Darunia said even lower than before, "and a piece of a green tunic…"

Zeta's face went stark white upon hearing this. Link had fallen off the cliff, and she cursed herself for not being able to save him from Jade. The archer felt foolish for not being able to spot it sooner, as there were so many signs that he was tainted by evil. She started to sob harder than before, realizing that everyone she had held dear was gone.

Darunia embraced her into his arms and comforted her silently. He spoke hard and fast.

"Link is a warrior, a hero, a champion. He would never give up without a fight," said Link's Sworn Brother. "I am sure if we search for him he will be alive. As for Zelda, we can do nothing until we find out where she has been taken. My brother and Dreck have the greatest chance of survival. If we look hard enough, we'll find them quicker than you think."

Immediately, Zeta stopped crying as she came to the same realizations Darunia had. Tiny Dreck was a Deku, he could have used his petals to float to safety. His counterpart was a Goron, impervious to just about everything, including falling from height. Although it was a longshot, she held the hope that they were all still alive.

She wished for her wounds to heal swiftly so her mission could be fulfilled. As soon as she located her comrades, Zeta would make sure the one responsible would pay for what he had done.

Jade would face her wrath sooner or later.









The Gerudo Fortress: a sandy, unbearably hot jail cell

A thin beam of sunlight penetrated the dark, inhospitable cell through a tiny, barred window. Even at this time of day, the other end of the cell was almost entirely shrouded in a murky blackness. What seemed like the only prisoner huddled in a ball, her knees to her chest, seemingly afraid to be out of the light.

The girl looked to be meditating quietly, perhaps planning an escape, or just silently waiting for the executioner to arrive.

Still dressed as regal as ever, Zelda sat there, angry at herself for not seeing the danger that had been rushing towards them all. Her splendid armor had been taken away, leaving her to wallow in self pity with a little more than a tattered royal gown.

Here, there were no guards. The two Gerudo who were supposed to have been watching her had left the night before and had not returned since. That didn't matter anyway, because the bars were enchanted by magic spells. The burn marks on Zelda's hands were evidence enough that they were powerful enough to thwart ever her magic.

Yet, in truth, the Princess didn't feel alone at all. She could feel many sets of eyes peering at her, watching her every breath and scrutinizing her slightest movements. Zelda could see their forms, hunched over in the darkness, patiently waiting for her to do or say something.

Unexpectedly, one of them emerged from the shadows. It was a young Gerudo girl, about fifteen or sixteen years old. Great suffering was in her eyes as she took a seat on the sandy floor in front of the Princess. It looked as if the girl had been here quite a while, as her normally bright Gerudo uniform was tattered and dirty.

"Addos binta Hylio roylat?" she said harshly in her native tongue. "Sahdikt abbis tehlrosh da ne agahnim loto Gorkhan?!"

The Princess fidgeted nervously, as she had absolutely no clue what this young woman meant.

"Kentoori ratta Lo," the girl started again. "Yann nomi qo?"

"Umm…my…name…is…Zelda," the Princess replied rather condescendingly, as if she were talking to a three year old. "Can…you…help…me?"

Almost immediately the Gerudo girl had a look of disgust on her face. Standing up, she turned her back on the Princess and stormed back towards her little dark corner. Zelda was dismayed by her failure to communicate, and putting her chin on her hand she started to mope. She thought all was lost and she'd never get out of this horrible sun baked prison.

Thankfully, the woman in the cell across from her spoke up.

"Why the long face, Princess?" the prisoner said cheerily, who was chained to the wall.

Even in the dim light, Zelda could distinctly see the woman's face. Of course, she was Gerudo, with long, flaming red hair, and very deeply tanned skin. Her clothes were ripped as well, but they showed signs of having once been very regal. Whoever had imprisoned her had allowed her to keep all her jewels. The rubies and amethysts on her particularly large brooch glittered the sunlight, letting the Princess know just who this person was..

It was the beautiful and mysterious Nabooru.

"Aw, did Kentoori make fun of you? She likes to be intimidating for some reason," she said teasingly. "Maybe it's because you're Hylian, or maybe it's because your outfit screams "I'm royalty, kidnap me and hold me for ransom!", but Kentoori plain doesn't like you."

The Princess was astonished

"You speak Common?!" Zelda replied incredulously. "You're Nabooru!"

The Gerudo thief rolled her eyes at that statement.

"I'm so glad you remembered me, Ladyship. And yes, I speak Common. Everybody does!" the Gerudo replied with an attitude. "It's just about the only thing that Humans have done for your little empire. Shouldn't you be grateful?"

Common, or Engl-ish, was the language that the Humans that inhabited Holodrum and Labrynna spoke. When those areas were absorbed into the Hylian Empire, the King decided that a national language was necessary to improve relations with other races and to standardize trade. For the other races, even modern Hylian was difficult to learn, and was close to impossible for the Zora. The language had hundreds and hundreds of characters, and one had to know all of them to be considered barely literate.

Engl-ish was simple and had only twenty-six characters which represented sounds rather than ideas. It was easily written and easily taught in schools, where children quickly adapted to its sometimes odd grammar rules. Rechristened as "Common", people were urged to learn both it, and their native language. Everyone could keep their heritage and still be able to communicate with many of the traveling merchants and tourists who came to Hyrule.

None of that mattered now.

Zelda had a lot of questions to ask.

"How did I get here? Where are we?" she inquired.

"Gerudo Fortress, where do you think?" Nabooru answered. "That Sheikah boy bashed you over the head I suppose. Then they dumped you in here with us."

The Princess touched the back of her head and felt the painful lump that had formed. No one had ever dared to strike a member of the Royal Family, and Jade would pay for this somehow.

"So, Your Highness, looks like you're in quite a predicament," the Gerudo said, mocking her.

"Indeed I am," Zelda shot back. "What does it matter? If I can't bend the bars, then I'll just wait for Link to come and save me…"

A spark of recognition flashed through Nabooru's mind. The image of a little boy in a green tunic resurfaced in her mind. She remembered how foolishly brave the boy was to try to steal the legendary Silver Gauntlets from the Desert Colossus.

"Oh, so the little runt has graduated to rescuing princesses," the Gerudo replied. "He must have done well for himself, a handsome, dashing Knight of Hyrule I assume?"

Nabooru laughed heartily when Zelda grimaced at her. She could tell the Princess had a vested interested in him, and could almost feel the waves of jealousy radiating from Her Highness.

"Anyway…in order to get out of here, we've gotta get past the King's agahnim," Nabooru said solemnly.

"Huh…agahnim? What in Din's name does that mean?" Zelda replied.

"It roughly translates into something like "dark apprentice", or whatever. He's Gorkhan's new toy, that Sheikah kid who was down here gloating about how he had captured you…"

Zelda searched her feelings and came to the conclusion that this simply could not be true. Unfortunately, it was, and she had to come to terms with the darkness living inside. Even so, she would do all in her power to return the boy to his former state. Jade had evil thrust upon him, and even though he had done atrocious things Zelda still thought he could be saved.

For his sake, Zelda had to at least try.

Before any of that could happen, the Princess needed to break free.

"We have to get out of here," she said. "Can I put my trust in you, Nabooru?"

"Certainly! I hate this place more than anything!" the Gerudo replied. "Just get me outta these shackles and I'll do all I can!"

The Princess smiled and rubbed her hands together in a devious way. Two other Gerudo girls, along with Kentoori, emerged from the darkness to see what Zelda was doing. Her eyes had lost their color again, like they had when she was performing the Merging Ceremony with Link.

It wasn't entirely clear what Zelda was doing, but it was amazing. She sat perfectly motionless on the sandy floor, deep in meditation. That's when the girls, who were highly skilled thieves, heard the soft, yet unmistakable sound of a lock being picked.

Mere seconds later, Nabooru's leg chains make a clacking noise, then opened wide.

Thanks to Zelda's telekinetic powers, the greatest living Gerudo thief was free of her bonds.

Very soon, the rest of the girls would be free as well…









At the entrance to the Haunted Wasteland

The windblown desert was a graveyard without headstones. Sand swallowed the bleached bones of lost travelers without a trace. The gritty storms that whipped across the dunes severely hindered visibility, leaving anybody unfortunate enough to lose his way little chance to see the morning sun over Hyrule again.

Link stood at the entrance to the barren, unforgiving desert. The great Spirit Temple was behind him, standing proudly against the brutal winds. Once it had been a beautiful place, sparkling and new. But that was many hundreds of years ago, and now it was only a husk of what it had once been. Most of, if not, all the colorful paint had been worn away by time and the driving sandstorms that ravaged the area.

Portions of the giant statue of a Gerudo woman were missing, the midsection badly deteriorating.

The Gerudo Fortress itself, Link's ultimate goal, was at the other end of the dunes. Only by crossing the harsh desert could the Fortress be successfully infiltrated, as access from the Gerudo Valley side was virtually impossible. Even the Hero of Time would be unable to fight his way through the hundreds of Gerudo warriors who would swarm him should he try to waltz in through the front entrance, nor would he ever want to.

Then of course, the route across the desert was only slightly less suicidal, but it was the only way to avoid being detected.

Toriyu followed him for only a few minutes, then turned back around and headed for the Spirit Temple. The strange lizard man had it in his head that there would be more profit in plundering the Desert Colossus than hanging around the Gerudo Fortress.

Link thanked Toriyu for everything he had done and wished him well, then gazed out over the landscape.

"Don't worry Zelda, I'm coming to get you…"the young man thought to himself.

The Hero of Time felt the sun's powerful rays beat down upon him and the cursed earth. On his back, the Master Sword gave a sense of reassurance, the kind that was sorely needed on a day like this. The only thing that separated him from is beautiful princess was this place of lost souls and a stone fortress full of Gerudo warriors.

His love had brought him this far, what awaited him now Link hoped he would be able to brave…


End Chapter Nine



Proceed to Chapter Ten...