Legend Of Zelda Fan Fiction / Other Fan Fiction ❯ Back In Her Hands ❯ When Princesses Attack ( Chapter 6 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Back In Her Hands
a Legend of Zelda romance fic
Chapter 6: When Princesses Attack
9-18-2004
by Grey

Disclaimer: I don't own the Zelda series or any of its characters; Nintendo and the series' creator Shigeru Miyamoto do. So don't sue me or anything.

This fic is dedicated to CubedCinder128, for what I hope are obvious reasons.

******

With her head aching, Saria wandered around Kakariko Village aimlessly, trying to decide what to do next. But it was hard to think with the way her head was throbbing in pain. That last vision she just had was simply the worst she had ever experienced: THREE Sages cut down in an instant, and she had felt everything they had.

But the thing that was frustrating her now was how she had no idea what she should do next. She was no fighter, and if something had just taken out three Sages AND Link at the same time, what chance did she have? And Ruto wasn't much of a fighter either. Maybe Raura could do something, but outside the Temple of Time his power wasn't much use.

*Wait a minute,* thought Saria, realizing something. *Maybe Zelda could do something. As she is, I doubt there's nothing she couldn't handle. But...*

A loud 'PSST!' snapped Saria out of her thoughts. She looked around, realizing she had wandered near the town entrance leading to Hyrule Field. Then she heard another 'PSST!', and realized it was coming from the entrance's gate. When she turned in its direction, she saw Zelda looking through the gate, obviously in a squatting position, and gesturing her to come to her. *Of course! She must have felt it too!* thought Saria as she ran toward the princess.

Zelda had an extremely apprehnsive look on her face, and constantly looked behind her to make sure no one was coming up the mountain path. She was taking a big risk coming out into the open, but right now, she had little choice.

Once Saria reached the gate, Zelda said, "You must've felt it too." Saria simply nodded, unable to think of anything to say. "Listen Saria, it's time you told me what's really going on."

"Huh? What do you mean?" asked Saria, but she already had a good idea what Zelda was referring to.

"About what happened here," said Zelda. "Impa left a note saying that a caravan was missing, but now it's obvious that...."

"Shhh! Not so loud!" hissed Saria, her hands covering her ears. "My head is killing me, and your voice is deafening!"

"Sorry," said Zelda quickly, "but you need to tell me what's really happened. From what Mido said...."

"MIDO?!!" shrieked Saria, outraged. "Oooh, I should've known that little idiot wouldn't have listened! When I get back he's gonna get it good...."

"Uh, Saria?"

"This time he's gone too far!" she went on, completely ignoring Zelda. "I know, I'll 'accidently' slip up and let a bunch of Deku Babas sprout in the Lost Woods, and make him go get rid of them!"

"Look Saria, I..."

"Or I'll invite some of the Gorons over, and then have them do their dreaded 'Goron Hug'," continued Saria, still tuning Zelda out. "That'll teach Mido to...."

"Saria!" snapped Zelda, trying to get Saria's attention. It worked; Saria's hands flew to her ears again and she fell down. "Sorry Saria, but you will please deal with Mido some other time? I still need to know what's happened here."

"OK OK!!" snapped Saria, picking herself up off the ground. "The caravan isn't missing; it's still right outside the new northern exit of Dodongo's Cavern. It was attacked."

"Attacked?!" cried Zelda. "By who?"

"We don't know. All I heard was that everyone in the caravan was dead, and Impa and Link went to investigate," replied Saria.

Zelda looked down, frustration and anger welling up inside her. Impa had deliberately misled her about what had happened. Impa clearly must have not wanted her to be burdened by another tragedy, but as a princess, this sort of thing was her responsibility!

"Saria, please stay here in case anything else happens," spoke up Zelda in a strained voice. "I'm going to...."

Zelda was cut off by a chorus of terrified screams from behind her. She peered behind her to see several Hylians had come up the mountain path, and all of them were staring directly at her, wide-eyed with horror and confusion. She simply stared back, unsure about what to do now that she had been spotted.

*Oh great, my secret's out,* thought Zelda bitterly. *But I'll have to worry about that later.* Calling upon her magic energy, she uses Farore's Wind once again to teleport herself. This time, her destination was the northern exit of Dodongo's Cavern.

*I know these trade routes, I've been down them myself more than once,* Zelda thought to herself as she began walking down the path. *All these months there's been no trouble. What could have...*

It wasn't long before Zelda came to the remains of the caravan, and saw the dead bodies of all those who had been in it. As she surveyed the horrific sight, it didn't take her long to come to the same conclusion Link had: someone had tried to set up the Gerudo.

But that knowledge didn't comfort the princess in the least. She fell to her knees and covered her face in her hands, sobbing uncontrollably. Several of her people had just been slaughtered in cold-blood, and it weighed heavily on her heart.

Eventually, though, Zelda rose, and took off down the mountain trench. Whereas before she had been overcome with sorrow, now she was filled with rage. "I swear, with the Goddesses as my witness, that I will find whoever did this and make them pay!!"

******

"Hey, I think he's waking up," Link heard someone say. The Hero of Time slowly opened his eyes, his head throbbing and his entire body aching. The last thing he could remember was exploring the mountain trenches with Impa, Darunia and Nabooru, and suddenly a Wizzrobe showed up, and... "Hey, Link, you awake yet?!" he heard Darunia shout.

Darunia's loud voice made Link's head hurt even more. "Agghh, not so loud... my head is killing me..." he said weakly. As his vision slowly came into focus, he could make out Impa and Darunia. Both of them appeared to be against a wall, their arms and legs fastened to the wall with shackles and chains, and the ones holding Darunia looked extra-strong.

Link slowly looked around him. To his right, Nabooru was chained up in the same manner, but she was still unconscious, and Link could now feel iron shackles around his own wrists and ankles as well. And they all appeared to be imprisoned in a small alcove, with iron bars blocking the way out. "Ugh, where are we?" Link asked, but he had a pretty good idea where they were.

"We're in their mountain hideout. Apparently, when we got too close, they sent out that creature to attack us," said Impa. "We've found out a few things though, for whatever good is does us."

"Like what?" asked Link curiously.

"We overheard a lot of stuff," replied Impa. "Namely, how that attack on the caravan was done just to lure you out here."

"Lure me out here?!" repeated Link.

"Yeah, these guys got spooked once they found out you were back, so they planned this to get you out of the way," said Darunia. "They figured you'd see through the set-up and come all the way out here to investigate."

"In fact, it worked even better than they hoped," added Impa darkly. "They never expected to catch three of us Sages as well..."

Link gritted his teeth in anger. That murderous attack was nothing but a ploy to draw him out in the open? All those people died just because he came home? And even worse, he had helped deliver three of the Sages into enemy hands! *Some hero I am,* he thought angrily. *I end up goading these monsters into attacking Hylians just by coming home, and then I fall for their dirty tricks...*

"There is one bit of hope though," spoke up Darunia. "All the Sages share a bond, you see, so when one Sage is hurt or in despair, all the others feel it too. No doubt the others felt it when we were blasted."

Link's face brightened up. "So that means Zelda would know about what happened?!" he asked hopefully.

Darunia looked a bit surprised. "Uh, yeah, she would," answered Darunia, confused. "Wh-why would it be so important if Zelda felt it?"

Impa and Link looked at each other for a moment. Eventually, Link spoke up. "Let's just say that if Zelda shows up right now, Ganondorf's army will get more than they bargained for," said Link, smiling.

******

The sun hung high in the sky, its blazing rays relentlessly beating down on Zelda as she walked through the mountain trenches. The heat was becoming unbearable for Zelda, and her dressy outfit was only making it worse. *Ugh, it's so hot! I hope I find them soon!* she thought as she wiped away the sweat from her forehead. But it had been over a half hour since she had come across the caravan, and hadn't found any trace of the attackers since then.

"Oh, who am I kidding?" Zelda thought aloud as she continued on her way, hanging her head in defeat. "I'm no adventurer like Link. I doubt I'll even be able to find where they are or who attacked them. And even if I do, what if I'm not strong enough, even with the way I am now..."

Zelda stopped walking suddenly when she saw something right in front of her feet that DEFINITELY didn't belong there. The dead body of a Lizalfos. "Tha-that's one of Ganondorf's beasts!! B-but why... how..." she sputtered, not believing her eyes. Lifting her head up, she took a good look around her. All around her were other dead Lizalfoses as well, and a bit farther back on the path were a couple of dead Moblins she had just passed by without noticing. "Th-this means that some of Ganondorf's forces still remain!" she thought aloud, unable to deny what her eyes were telling her.

"Link was right, it was foolish of us to assume they were all gone! They must've been the ones who murdered those merchants!!" she spat, her fists clenched in anger. "OK, that's it! I'll find where they're hiding if it takes me all day and all night!!" yelled the giant-sized princess as she ran forward through the mountain trenches, her self-doubt replaced with a renewed sense of determination.

******

Link wasn't sure how much time had passed since he had awakened, but he was sure of one thing: he was getting tired of standing there, chained and shackled, unable to do anything. Looking over at Darunia and Impa, he saw from the expressions on their faces that they felt the same way. In fact, Darunia still hadn't given up on trying to break his bindings. Link could see his muscles straining from trying to break free, but it was no use; the Moblins had made sure that even his strength wouldn't be able to break the shackles. As for Impa, she had an air of reserved calm about her. Link wasn't sure whether it was because she was confident Zelda was on her way here, or if it was just typical Sheikah behavior when faced with a crisis.

"This is nuts. We can't just stand here waiting for help to arrive. We need to find a way out of this," barked Link irascibly. He briefly wondered if this was what Zelda felt like when she was held hostage by Ganondorf.

"Urgh, I hear you, Brother. But for the moment, it looks like we're stuck here," said Darunia, clearly annoyed by his inability to free himself.

"Uhhhnn," came a moan from beside Link. He turned to find that Nabooru had finally awakened as well. "Ugh, wh-where are we? What happened?" she asked in a weak voice as she looked all around her.

Link brought Nabooru up to speed, telling her about the Moblins' ploy and how they were now all locked up in their mountain hideout. "Ugh, those bastards," she spat angrily. "We need to bust out and teach them a lesson."

"We all feel the same way, believe me," said Link. "But we're chained up here, and even Darunia can't break free of his shackles."

Nabooru said nothing in reply. She looked over at Darunia, then turned back to face Link, a sly smile foriming on her face. "Wha-what is it?" he asked her, curious about what she had on her mind.

"You saw through the Moblins' trick earlier. You think you know a lot about us Gerudo, don't you?" asked Nabooru wryly.

"Uh, yeah, I suppose," Link replied confusedly, not seeing the point of her question.

"Well, I bet there's a little tidbit about the Gerudo you DON'T know: we have excellent dentists," said Nabooru, still smiling.

Her three companions stared at her with blank looks. "You must've gotten hit harder than we thought. What does THAT have to do with anything?!" snapped Darunia.

"Well, you'll see," said Nabooru. Then she shut her mouth and remained still for a few seconds. In the dim lighting, Link could really see what she was doing. But a moment later, she opened her mouth again, and clenched between her front teeth was a molar. Wasting no time, she spat it over in Darunia's direction, and it hit one of shackles fastened on Darunia's wrist. As it impacted, a small popping sound could be heard, and a sallow-looking liquid spread out on the iron shackle. Hissing sounds could be heard too. Then Link figured out what was going on: a powerful acid was contained in Nabooru's fake tooth, and it was eating away at Darunia's bindings.

Eventually, the corrosive acid weakened the shackle enough so that Darunia could pull his arm free of it and away from the wall. "There. Now do you think you can get us out of this cell?" asked Nabooru impatiently. Darunia wasted no time on words. He immediately set to work using his free hand to rip off the rest of his bindings. Then he quickly freed his three companios as well, and made short work of the iron bars blocking to way out of the alcove.

"Nabooru, you're a life-saver. I don't know how to thank you," said Link, extremely grateful for being able to finally bust out of his prison.

"If you really wanna thank me, fork over a hundred rupees," said Nabooru flatly. "Do you have any idea what's involved in making those things?"

"Save the chatter for later," snapped Impa. "We're free, but we need to find our weapons and equipment too."

"Problem solved," said Darunia, calling from across the room. He was standing beside a large crate. "Ganondorf's lackeys sure don't score high in the IQ department, leaving their prisoners' weapons right outside the cell," he commented, pointing at the crate.

Link, Impa and Nabooru quickly reclaimed their pilfered weapons and equipment, and not a moment too soon. Right outside the door to the cell room, a loud, scratchy voice could be heard -- "Hey, I think I heard something in there. Could the prisoners be escaping?"

Link ran up to the heavy, wooden door that led out of the cell room. Standing a few feet away from it, he pulled out his bow. As soon as the door flew open, he let loose a fire arrow. It struck a Moblin in the midsection, and it immediately caught on fire. There was a second Moblin standing in the doorway as well, who stared dumbly at the sight of his companion being set ablaze. Link took advantage of the Moblin's idiotcy and pulled out his hookshot, firing it right into the second Moblin's face, stunning it momentarily. This allowed Link to move in with his Great Fairy Sword and stab it through the chest, killing it instantly.

"Two more down. Now let's get the rest," said Link. Impa, Darunia and Nabooru all nodded in agreement, and followed him out of the cell room, ready to take on the remainder of Ganondorf's army.

******

Another half hour had passed for Princess Zelda, but she still couldn't find any trace of the monsters that attacked Link and the others. What had started out as a one-way mountain path had turned into a wide-open area with several branching paths. Zelda had spent a good deal of time investigating all the paths, searching the walls of the trenches for any hidden openings, but so far she hadn't had any luck.

*I can't give up yet. Link and the others need me, and I can't let them down,* Zelda thought to herself as she continued to search the trenches. *Before, when Ganondorf was in power, I hid myself away and waited for others to do the fighting for me. Well, those days are over. This time, it's up to me to do the fighting.*

However, Zelda couldn't help but wonder if she was only willing to put herself in harm's way because of her current state. Hers was the Triforce of Wisdom, not the Triforce of Courage. She wondered whether or not she'd be so brave if she were still her normal self.

Soon she came across a wide-open space that she was quite sure she hadn't searched over yet. She began walking along the sides, looking for any irregularities or anything that would hint at a hidden entrance. *The rest of Ganondorf's forces must have a hideout here in the mountains, I know it,* she thought as she surveyed the rocky walls.

It didn't take her long to finish searching the entire area, and once again, she had found nothing. "Argh!" she cried out in anger as she turned away from the rock wall she had been facing. It was then that she finally found something.

In the center of the gorge-like area she had entered, parts of the sandy ground looked as if it had been turned to glass... almost as if it had been struck by lightning. Then she remembered how she sensed the other Sages being electrocuted. *This is it! This must be where they were attacked!* she thought excitingly, thrilled that she had finally found a clue. *Then maybe the hideout is nearby....*

Zelda walked over to the spot to investigate the area further, and could see what looked like drag marks in the sandy soil that led away from that glassy spot. She followed them, and they led her to what looked like a big boulder embedded in the rocky walls of the valley. She had noticed it before, but passed on it, thinking it was nothing. Apparently she had been mistaken.

Zelda grabbed the boulder and pulled, but it wouldn't budge. She tried pulling it again, harder this time, but it still wouldn't move the slightest bit. Even with her prodigious strength, she simply couldn't move the boulder. *Argh, I don't believe this! Well, maybe I can use magic to get through it,* thought Zelda, backing up and preparing to use Din's Fire.

But all of a sudden, the boulder slid outward and then to the side, revealing a tunnel that undoubtedly led underground. *What?! But I didn't do anything!!* thought Zelda, staring at the newly-revealed passage. Then she heard stony, malicious-sounding voices coming from the tunnel. Zelda realized that some creatures must be coming topside via the tunnel.

Hiding behind a nearby rock, which thankfully was big enough to conceal her entire body, Zelda waited patiently for whatever was coming out to reach the valley. Soon enough, she heard those sardonic voices again, but this time she could make out what they were saying.

"I don't see why we have to patrol the area. Doubt anyone would be ballsy enough to come snooping around here after what we did," said one voice.

"I hear ya. Besides we already lured the accursed Hero of Time out here and caught him, along with half the Sages," came another voice.

"And with them outta the way, it'll be easier than ever to retake what we've lost!" said a third.

Zelda felt as if her blood was about to boil. So, it was the remains of Ganondorf's army that had caused all this! *Link must be locked up in there. The entrance is open now, but I've have to get past these monsters. But there's three of them, and...*

Then Zelda felt like slapping herself. *What's wrong with me?! I can take them out with no trouble!!* With renewed confidence, she peered behind the rock and saw a Moblin walking toward her. Once it got close enough, she made her move. She leapt out from her hiding spot, and before the Moblin even knew what was going on, Zelda was closing in on it.

Since Moblins were only about eight feet tall, Zelda easily dwarfed them in size, allowing her to bring her clamped fists right down on its head. She could feel the Moblin's skull give way and heard it neck crack from the impact of her fists. Confident that she had finished off the first one, Zelda looked around for the other two. They were still near the tunnel entrance, both with blank looks on their faces. Obviously they hadn't counted on finding a princess standing nearly eleven feet tall on their patrol run!

While they were still confused, Zelda concentrated, and used the magic of Din's Fire to conjure up a ball of energy and send it toward one of the remaining Moblins. The Moblin promptly exploded in flames as the energy ball ignited, but with a force much greater than Zelda had expected. Clearly, the sheer power of her magic had increased with her size too! Zelda then turned to face the last one, who was still staring at Zelda with a blank look. Also, it seemed to be quivering, clearly intimidated by Zelda's display of raw power. *Good. This is one time I WON'T mind if someone's scared of me!!* Zelda thought vindictively.

Then she moved in, lunging at the last Moblin with her arms outstreched. The Moblin tried to bring up its spear to fend her off, but it was too late. Zelda's hands clamped down on its throat and she hoisted it up of its feet, slamming it against the rocky wall. "I KNOW YOU CAPTURED LINK AND THE SAGES!! ARE THEY DOWN IN THIS TUNNEL?!!" she roared, still gripping its throat tightly. The quivering Moblin, too frightened to speak, simply nodded. "That's all I need to know," Zelda said icily. Then she whirled around and hurled the Moblin's body toward the rock she had been hiding behind. Its head impacted it hard, and Zelda swore she could hear its spine shatter.

Breathing heavily and still filled with vindictive anger, Zelda surveyed her handiwork. Three Moblins taken out in less than a minute. "And the rest of you will meet the same fate," she spat acidly as she entered the exposed entranceway. Fortunately with them being made with mainly Moblins in mind, she could walk through the tunnels without ducking, although she occasionally felt her head brush against the top of the tunnel.

*OK, I'm finally in,* she thought as she sped down the tunnel. *But I have no idea where they're keeping Link. How do I find him?*

At that moment, she felt a burning sensation in her right hand. Looking at her hand, she saw the Triforce symbol glowing on the back. Furthermore, she felt a slight tugging sensation in her hand as well, as if to lead her to a certain location. Zelda instantly knew what was going on: her Triforce piece was letting her home in on Link's. Grinning, she ventured forth, confident that she'd find Link and the three captured Sages soon enough.

******

"If only we could find the way out," Link muttered under his breath as he and his friends ventured through the tunnels that made up the Moblins' hideout. It had been ten minutes since they had busted free of their cell, but so far, they had had no luck in finding an exit. Thankfully though, they hadn't run into any other monsters so far. So for the moment, they were safe.

All of a sudden, Link felt a strange tingling senstation in his hand. Looking at it, he saw that the Triforce symbol was glowing on the back of his hand again, just like before he faced Ganondorf. It could only mean one thing: Zelda must have found this place! Link stopped and showed his friends the Triforce symbol on his hand. "I think this means that Zelda's here now."

Then all of a sudden came a booming voice that seemed to echo all around them. "Too bad for her! Now she will die along with all of you!!" Link whirled around, sword drawn, and saw a small army of Moblins, Lizalfoses, Stalfoses, and Dinofloses, forming a semicircle around them. Taking a better look around him, Link saw that they had just exited a tunnel and entered a large chamber-like area, which was reminiscint of the heart of the Goron City. "I don't know how you escaped from your cell and I don't care!," came the voice again. "We planned on using you as bait to lure the rest of the Sages and the princess here, but now, I think we'll just kill you all," came the stony voice of a Moblin that echoed throughout the chamber.

Then Link heard something drop nearby him. He looked down to see what looked like a bomb, and the fuse was about to go out. A second later, it went off, but instead of an explosion, a stange sticky substance came out that engulfed Link and his companions, trapping them within it. Link tugged and pulled at it, but could not free himself from the glue-like mass. And judging from the grunts and frustrated groans he heard from his friends, they weren't having any luck either, not even Darunia.

In the dim torchlight of the chamber, Link could see a single Moblin step forward and slowly approach Link, its spear pointed directly at him. Link tightened his grip on the Great Fairy Sword, but he knew it was no use; the sticky glop covered his entire left arm and he couldn't move it at all. "You were the one that defeated our master, so you're first," said the Moblin, its spear still pointed threateningly at Link.

"OH NO YOU DON'T!!!!"

An impossibly loud, anguished scream echoed throughout the chamber, causing all the monsters present to look around confusedly, trying to figure out where the loud voice had come from.

Then the Moblin that had advanced on Link spontaneously burst into flames without warning. The Moblin flailed around in a panic, and a few seconds later, it fell dead, its body disintegrating into ashes.

"Uh, what just happened?" Link heard Nabooru ask. Clearly, she was just as confused as Ganondorf's monsters.

"That can only mean one thing: Zelda's found us," Link heard Impa answer. "And she sounds mighty angry."

Then she revealed herself. Link saw her suddenly drop down right in front of them where the Moblin had been standing moments before, as if she had jumped down from a higher level. Her back was facing him, and she was facing Ganondorf's creatures. Link could see them starting to back up and look at each other, unsure of what to do next.

"Uhhh, Zelda's sure... umm, GROWN, since last we met," Nabooru said timidly.

"Uhh, I take it this is the problem about Zelda you didn't want to tell us?" asked Darunia.

"Bingo," said Link. "And I have a feeling Zelda's problem is now gonna be the solution to our problem...."

Zelda looked all around her. Surrounding her was an army of Ganondorf's most feared monsters. But now, with her enlarged size, they looked a lot less threatening. Zelda couldn't help but to smile wickedly. She now had a chance to wipe the land clean of these filthy beasts. "Listen up, you motherless spawns!" she shouted threatingly. "Anyone who wants to hurt Link and the Sages will have to get through ME first!! Anyone care to try?!"

As if to answer her, several Stalfoses charged at her. But Zelda was ready. Just as one Stalfos was about to reach her, she cocked back her fist. Concentrating her magic power in her fist, she cut loose with a vicious right hook that destroyed the skeleton on impact, its bones flying in all directions. Another was about to reach her, but she was ready for that one too. She reached out with both hands and concentrated again. With her magic energy, she ensnared the Stalfos. Then she spun around and tossed it at another approaching Stalfos, causing both of them to fly apart. However, a fourth one managed to get close and took a swipe at her. Zelda briskly backed up, then grabbed the Stalfos by the arm when it tried to attack again. Then she effortlessly hurled it into the crowd of marauding monsters, knocking several of them over.

*Yes, I was right! I can do this!* Zelda thought jubilantly. *I can take them all out, and rid Hyrule of these scum forever!*

But her enemies had other ideas. "Everyone, just rush her! It doesn't matter how big she is, there's still only one of her!!" came the sardonic voice of another Moblin.

The rest of the army seemed to listen. About a dozen monsters charged toward Zelda all at once. Zelda lunged forward to meet them head on. With a swipe of her huge hand, she shocked the Lizalfos in front of her with her magic and knocked it unconscious. Then she lifted her foot and kicked another Lizalfos in the face, knocking that one out as well. But then yet another Lizalfos jumped on her back, about to plunge its blade into her jugular. Zelda reacted just in time, reaching behind her to grab the loathsome reptile and flipping it over her head, bringing it down right in front of her onto an advancing Moblin.

*Whoa, this is getting a lot tougher. Guess I didn't count on there being so many!* she thought to herself as she continued to fight. *Got to give myself some breathing space! Can't use Din's Fire so close to Link and the others... I know!* Focusing her magic again, this time she called upon the power of Nayru's Love, but in a creative new way. Spinning around, she used the energy of Nayru's Love to knock back all the monsters surrounding her.

Satsified that her idea had worked, Zelda immediately went on the offensive again. She bent forward and swiped at three Moblins right in front of her, sending her magic energy coursing through their bodies and caused them to fly back into the chamber wall. Looking around for more enemies, she saw two Lizalfoses beside her, looking uneasily at her. Zelda lashed out and grabbed their heads in her hands, then konked them together. She swore she could hear their skulls crack open as a result.

"Get her! Get her, you idiots! Let's come at her all at once! She can't beat us all!" came the rallying cry of another Moblin.

Once again the monsters seemed to take the rantings to heart. Three more Lizalfoses leapt at her, sounding off with their dolphin-like screech. Concentrating the power of Din's Fire once again into a compact ball of energy, she launched it at the jumping reptiles and ignited it. She succeeded in incinerating two of them, but the last one managed to close in on her and swung its blade. Instinctively, she lifted her forearm in front of her to protect herself, and the monster's blade cut through her glove and made a long, bleeding gash in her arm. Zelda gritted her teeth; her arm was afire with a sharp, stinging pain.

"You see?! You see?! She's not invincible!! Keep at it!" cried that one Moblin again.

An instant later, a Moblin charged at her from the left. She was too slow this time, being distracted by the pain in her arm, and sunk a spear right into her hip. Zelda screamed as she felt the spear's tip plunge right into her hip bone and she bent down on one knee, her hand reaching for her wound. A second later, another Moblin advanced upon her from the front, holding a large rock. Since she was bending down, the Moblin could smack her on the side of her face with with the rock. Zelda started seeing stars swirling around her head and could taste her own blood. And the Moblin that had hit her with the rock wasn't done yet; it charged forward with a headbutt, nailing Zelda in the gut and knocking her flat on her back.

Zelda couldn't think straight because of the pain; all she was aware of was hearing the cries of "Get her!" and "Pin her down!" and the sensation of being held down by several of the monsters. They had succeeded in bringing her down and now were securely holding her down through sheer force of numbers.

*No... it can't end like this. If they kill me, they'll go on and kill Link! No, I can't let that happen! I've got to keep fighting!*

Concentrating with all her might, fighting to block out the pain, she summoned up the magic of Din's Fire again. This time, its energy radiated outward from her body and incinerated all the monsters that had tried to pin her down, their death screams shrilling in her ears.

Zelda slowly rose to her feet to face her attackers again, but none of them were advancing on her anymore. They were all watching her, as if they were expecting something....

Then from out of nowhere, an ugly robed monster dropped down in front of her. It was holding a big wooden rod, the tip of it pulsating with electrical energy, and it was pointing it right at Zelda. Zelda realized that the creature must have been some sort of magician, and was about to turn its magic upon her. She quickly summoned up the power of Nayru's Love again. But she was an instant too late. The monster fired off a lightning blast at her before the protective barrier could form around her. "YYEEAAAAARRGGHHH!!!!" she screamed as the devasting power of the lightning bolt coursed through her body, her voice almost deafening everyone in the room. She then slumped to her hands and knees, barely conscious.

Meanwhile, Link was watching everything. That was all he could do, since the glue-like substance was still holding him prisoner. The sight of Zelda being struck down filled his heart with dread. If she died... *No, I've got to free myself and save her! But how?*

Then Link finally realized that most of his right arm was unbound by the glue. Suddenly, an inspiration came to him. He reached into his quiver and pulled out a single arrow. Concentrating with all his might, he summoned his magic energy and powered it up as an ice arrow. He quickly plunged it into the sticky mass, and it instantly became frozen and brittle, and allowed the four of them to easily break free.

"OK, now let's hurry and help Zelda!" he told the others as he dashed forward. But their escape hadn't gone unnoticed by the monsters; two Stalfoses and a Lizalfos ran up to block his path. *No!! They're keeping me from reaching Zelda!!* he thought panickingly as he began to fight the monsters.

At the same time, the Wizzrobe was reading another lightning blast....

Zelda's entire body was a mass of pain; every part of her body felt as if it were on fire. Never before had she suffered pain like this. Furthermore, the pain fueled her anger even more...

All of a sudden, Zelda felt a surge of power. It wasn't from the Triforce of Wisdom or her magic, it was something else. And it felt as if this power was radiating out from her body...

Zelda found the strength to stand again, and she slowly rose to her feet. Looking around her, she saw all the monsters seemd to be backing away from her, and it looked as if they were... shrinking? Then Zelda realized what was going on: the power of the Giant's Mask had somehow kicked in, and she was growing again!!

Nearby, Link and the others watched as Zelda continued to grow. Link simply couldn't believe how big she was getting. When her growth spurt had finished, Link could see that she had doubled in size AGAIN!!

Zelda looked down at the remaining force of monsters; they all looked even smaller to her now. Whereas before they were still a threat, now they were practically nothing to her. And evidently they reached the same conclusion and began to make a run for it. But she wasn't going to let them get away. Calling upon her last reserves of strength, she used Din's Fire one last time and shot the energy ball at the fleeing monsters. It ignited with a thunderous burst and brightly lit up the entire chamber, its scorching heat radiating throughout all the tunnels.

As for the monsters... ten, twenty, fifty... she wasn't sure how many she had managed to obliterate with her last spell. But she was confident that she had finished off a good number of them, and that she had saved her friends.

Her friends.... Looking down, she saw Link and the others staring up at her with baffled looks on their faces. Oh, how small they looked now! And Link barely came up to her knee! Her fears had come true: she had grown again to an even more monstrous size. She was even more of a danger to everyone now. But at least she managed to save Link and the others. "Link," she muttered weakly, "thank the Goddesses... I made it..."

Then she fell forward onto the ground, the pain and exhaustion finally getting to her. The last thing she saw was Link bending down to look into her eyes, and then she blacked out completely.

******

Ugh, it took me almost a month to finally finish another chapter. Damnit, I'm too slow. Well, hopefully you all thought the wait was worth it....

So long,
Grey