[o] The Legend of Zelda: Sons of Time [o]

[Kallori]

The Legend of Zelda: Sons of Time

Prologue

A young girl stood outside a house, looking out over the large walls. An older man soon came by the girl’s side. “Do you think he’ll come, father?”
The man gave a warm smile. “I’m sure he’ll get here soon enough.”
The girl had doubts though. “He promised...”

---

The forest was particularly quiet today. Birds weren’t chirping, there was no rustle of leaves in the tall canopies, no animals were seen. It was as if the forest was almost dead. Just like him, thought a young man, no older than seventeen. It was a miracle he was even still alive, as it had been quite some time since he last visited the forest, after the conundrum in a strange town a mysterious forest kid had led him to. Visions of the event flashed through his mind, of many people he thought he knew, the state of the land, and the eventual almost-downfall of the land. If it hadn’t been for the boy’s actions, the land would’ve been doomed. Now that it was over and done with, he could continue his original quest; to find a lost friend.
The boy dismounted from his steed, a faithful companion he first met back in Hyrule. It would be his intent to get back there soon. “Let’s rest here Epona. We’re not going to find her anytime soon.” The horse whinnied, brushing up against the lad. “I know, I know, I’m getting there.” The boy dug in his bag for any food, and turned up with two carrots and a small piece of bread that had no doubt gone stale. He gave the carrots to Epona, who gobbled them up without a second thought, as the boy tried to eat the piece of bread. It wasn’t easy to swallow, but he tried as best he could. The boy dug out an instrument, the Ocarina of Time, and began to play a melodious tune, sitting down on a stump. The song reminded him of the forest and a dear friend he grew up with.
A small light peeked from behind the trunk of a tree. A green light, which turned out to be a fairy. It flew over to the boy and sat on his knee. “Cool song.” It said, the voice that of a male.
"Thanks, I learned it from a friend growing up in the forest.” The boy replied. “I don’t suppose you could help me?”
The fairy flew up and slowly circled the boy’s head. “Help you with what?”
“I’m looking for a fairy named Navi, do you know her?”
“Navi?” the fairy parroted, slowly sitting down on the boy’s head. “Can’t say I have. What’s your name?”
“My name is Link.”
“The fairy halted in midair, before realizing his wings stopped fluttering, and promptly began flying again, this time in a more spastic beat. “You mean you’re-? And you battled-? Really and truly? Are you-? You’re not joking, are you?” the fairy flew close to Link’s face. “You are the Hero of Time, right? THE Hero of Time?”
“That’s me.” Link said.
The fairy flew around in more spastic patterns. “WOW!! I can’t believe I met THE Hero of Time! It’s such an honor sir!” the fairy flew close to Link again, but not right up to his face. “My name’s Holo! I don’t know much ‘Navi’s, but if this friend of yours is a fairy, I’m sure she’s at the village. It’s a place where a lot of fairies live.”
“Could you take me there?” Link asked. He was starting to like this fairy already. Maybe Holo could be his new companion.
“Certainly! This way sir!” Holo said, fluttering close to a bushel of trees that were a little too close together.
Link patted Epona on the side. “Don’t worry girl, I’ll come back for you.” He turned to Holo. “Can I count on you to lead me back to her?”
Holo had to figure out what Link meant by ‘her’, but quickly realized it was the horse he was talking about now. “Sure thing hero!”
The two made their way through the dense forest, with Holo saying “Watch out!” and “Careful.” Every once in a while. It made Link remember just how valuable Navi was to him. Even though he was the Hero of Time, an old title albeit, he wouldn’t have gotten anywhere without Navi’s help and guidance. Eventually, the two entered a somewhat open area that appeared circular. “This area was specifically made to cause travelers who didn’t know the forest to get lost, never knowing which path to take.”
Link looked around. The path behind him was slightly different than the three in front of him. “Just like old times.” He said. “Which path leads to the village?”
Holo flew to the middle one, then the one to the left, and finally to the right, before going back to the middle again. “It’s this way.”
“Are you sure?” Link asked, checking to make sure Holo was going the right way.
The fairy flew down to the ground. “I don’t-“ he then saw something in the ground, a familiar marking. “It’s definitely this way!” he then flew through the opening and Link chased after him. It brought back memories he wanted to get rid of, but such things couldn’t be helped.
Tripping and stumbling to continually regain footing, Link had a tough time keeping up with Holo. When he did regain proper footing, it was lost as he fell in a small pool. He sighed, defeated by his desire to regain old memories.
Holo flew back as he heard the splash. “Sorry, I got carried away. Again.”
“Does it happen a lot?” Link asked, getting to his feet and shaking any water off his light clothes. He had outgrown his Kokiri garb, forcing him to find some other form of clothing. Fortunately, he ran into a group of Skull Kids at the age of fourteen, who offered him bigger clothes after he played them a song, which they liked a lot. They were simple, just a loose shirt and mildly baggy pants.
“So how long have you known this ‘Navi’?” Holo asked.
It was quite an interesting question, Link found. “Well, one could say seven years, or not for very long.” Holo was confused by the answer. “While I am the Hero of Time, and therefore can travel through it, to me it’s not very long, but to everyone else, it was seven years.”
“I think I get it.” Holo said, wavering back and forth. “It’s really, um...er...”
“Confusing? Yes, I suppose it is.” Link said. “So shall we continue?”
Holo perked up. “Yeah!” he said before zipping off and Link continuing after the fairy. They were going so fast, they didn’t see a pair of red, menacing eyes beneath one of the shrubs. The eyes glowed for a split second before fading away.

---

“So, he’s been spotted, has he?” a deep, rough voice said.
“Indeed Majar. We should kill him now!” said a second voice, much higher and slightly hoarse. “While he’s weak and defenseless!”
Majar whipped around, a hellbent lust in his eyes. They were the only things visible in the shadowy room. “NO! Idiot!” he then regained composure. “Master will be the one to end him, and I will see to it that he does.” Majar moved close to a lit area, but what was lighting it was uncertain, which outlined Majar’s features, revealing a very humanoid being, though twisted and blackened. A cape billowed behind him. “And I’ll see to it that our master will come back. You, Farras, must tell our spies to keep tabs on him. And if need be...” he paused, reaching for a book on a pedestal in the shadows. “Stall him.”
“It will be done.” Farras then flew out, his bat-like appearance visible in the light of the full moon.  

[Kallori]

Chapter 1

"Here we are!” Holo said as they reached the outskirts of the village. Mushrooms and small shrubbery were abundant here, and many of the trees had holes, presumably the fairies’ houses. “If you show up without warning, they’ll most likely fly off. I’ll fly on ahead, just wait here.” Holo drifted into the village, and almost became lost with the rest of the fairies.
“Hey Holo, how’s my homebro doing?” a purple fairy said, flying up to the green one.
"Oh, Pari, didn’t see you. I’ve been good.” The two dipped a little to gracefully pass under an overgrown root.
“So where have you been? Hanging with your girlfriend?” Pari said, obviously trying to coax Holo into talking about his absence from the village. Pari was persistent like that.
“Maple isn’t my girlfriend!” Holo said, becoming slightly agitated. “We’re ‘just friends’!”
“Sure you are.” Pari said, dragging out the sentence. “You know, if you keep holding out on it, you’ll never actually become more than ‘friends’.” Holo looked at him with a questionable face. “What?”
Holo sighed. “Nothing.”
Pari stopped for a minute before catching up. “So if you haven’t been with Maple, then what were you doing?”
Holo flew around the trunk of a great tree, spiraling up towards a platform that seemed to be carved out. “I was with...someone else.”
Pari flitted in and out, trying to guess what the fairy meant. "Was it Kare? Naivi? Flurr?”
“No, none of them.” Holo said, sitting down on the ledge, letting his legs droop over the side. Pari joined him, also letting his legs hang down.
“Come on. I’m your best bud. You can tell me anything.” Pari said, trying to do his best to get the answer.
“Fine. I was with the Hero of Time.”
“I KNEW IT-wait, what?” Pari said, expecting a different answer. “Who’s this ‘Hero of Time’?”
“You mean you don’t know?” Pari shook his head. “He’s this legendary hero who traveled through time to save this land. I can’t believe you’ve never heard of him.” Holo stood up. “And he’s here, just outside the village.”
Pari jumped up and almost tackled Holo. “You’ve brought an outsider to this village?” he yelled, almost loud enough to gain attention. “Do you know how much trouble you could be in with the queen?”
“I realize that, but he’s looking for an old friend.” Holo said, removing Pari’s hands from his shoulders. “He said he’s looking for a ‘Navi’.”
“Naivi?” Pari said, trying to help Holo out, though didn’t seem much.
“No, Navi. Although...” Holo paused, looking over the edge at a particular fairy, this one blue in color. The fairy was sitting by a mushroom, seeming to be lost in thought. “Naivi was quite recent here. I think it’s been, what, six years?”
“Seven.” Pari corrected.
“Right. That seems fishy to me. Maybe she’s this Navi and just changed her name.” Holo said.
“But what are we supposed to do, just fly over and interrogate her?” Pari said. “She wouldn’t be pleased with that.
“I thought not, so I’ve got another idea.” Holo flew down, heading for the entrance from which he came.
Pari flew after the fairy. “Aw come on, don’t bring him in! I already warned you about that!”
“I know.” Holo said. “But I’ve got no other options.”
Pari stopped, watching the young fairy boy fly off. He slowly fell down to a mushroom, in which Naivi coincidentally sat.
“Oh hey Pari.” She said. “Something on your mind?”
“You’re a quick reader.” Pari said glumly. “It’s Holo. He thinks he’s found some, hero, or something, I forget the rest.”
“A hero? Hero of what?” Naivi asked, walking over to Pari. She practically leaned over his shoulder.
“Oh, what was it, it’s on the tip of my tongue.” Pari knocked a fist into his head, trying to remember what Holo said. “Now I remember, the Hero of Time.” Naivi practically froze. “He says he’s just outside the village. Stupid fairy. What do you think Naivi?” No answer. “Naivi?” Pari repeated, turning around. But the blue fairy was nowhere to be found. Pari zipped around the mushroom top sporadically. Where’d she go so fast?

Holo, meanwhile, searched a while outside the village for Link, but didn’t find him. I told him to stay put, “Link? Link where are you?” the fairy flew around a bit before returning just outside. His green glow turned red, indicating he was angry. “Link, if you don’t get out here this minute, I’ll...I’ll...” he paused, returning to his green glow. “do something.”
A large thud came behind the fairy, and whipping around, Holo found Link on the ground, rubbing his head. “Oh there you are.” Holo said. “What were you doing?”
Link slowly stood up. “I decided to climb a tree. Unfortunately, it didn’t agree with me.”
“You fell?” Holo said. “Wow, you’re reckless.”
“I prefer to think of it as dangerous curiosity.” Link said, stretching. “Ow!” he said, popping his back. “I guess I’m not as flexible as I used to be.” He laughed.
“At least you’re ok.” Holo paused. “Why don’t we go in now?”
“  

[Kallori]

Chapter 2

Thunder rumbled, and lightning cracked. It was a dreary sight to some, but to the demons inside the grand castle atop a colossal mountain, it was paradise. Bubbles flew around the outside, searchlights strapped to their skulls, as large, flying dragons circled the castle. Inside the walls, spiders and lizards skittered and slithered about, many attending duties, others just roaming about.
In one room, a strange language could be heard. The owner was surrounded by large pillars alit with blue flames, with one larger torch in front, unlit. The person continued chanting, as if trying to light it somehow.
“Majar! Majar!” Farras yelled as he flew in a nearby window.
Majar snapped the book he was reading from shut. “It better be good, Farras. I’m losing time and patience with it.”
“So sorry, but I bring news of the hero!”
Majar turned around, slowly, calmly. “Speak. Time is short.” He waved the book, gesturing he must get back to his duty as fast as possible.
“He has been spotted in the forest heading towards Hyrule!”
“Very well. Send the Lizalfos after him.”
“Aye.” Farras said, flying off down a series of corridors, some too narrow for a normal being. Eventually he came to a sparring hall in which a purple lizard sat alone. There were thousands of weapons of varying types hanging on the walls of the room, and numerous targets and test dummies for practicing.
“Ah, Farras, what brings you to my domain?”
“Don’t be an egotist, Kalekos.” Farras said, hanging from a rafter. “I’ll make this short; Majar has sent you and your comrades to the forest, you need to leave at once and kill the Hero of Time.”
“So, it’s begun.” Kalekos said, rising from her seat. Though she may be female, her strength and skill were never matched. “Very well. Tell Majar I’m on my way.” Farras flew out of the room, carrying out yet another order. Sometimes he thinks that’s all he’s good for around here.

---

As Link, Epona, Navi, and Holo made their way through the forest, a lot of things seemed to jump out at them. However, Link dispatched of them with the Kokiri Sword. He was amazed it was still sharp, since he hadn’t used it after the events in Termina. No wonder the blade was sacred in the Kokiri Forest from where he originally found it when his quest first started.
“Sure are a lot of enemies here.” Holo said.
“Nothing I can’t handle though.” Link said, easing the fairy’s fear.
Navi rolled her eyes. “You’re still the same as when we parted. Didn’t you learn anything in the forest? You grew up there for ten years, for Din’s sake!”
“Well I did learn something.” Link said, gaining the blue fairy’s attention. “There’s a group of Skull Kids that like adults.”
Navi shook her head. “We’re almost there.” They came into a partial clearing, with many stumps, but they looked like the trees had just fallen. Which begged the question, “What happened here?”
Holo and Link looked around, noticing the carnage. “Was this recent?” Link asked.
Holo flew over to a nearby stump. “Even the inside is all wrecked!” He flew back to Link and Navi. “Something came through here. Very recent.”
“Watch your back Link.” Navi pointed out.
Link dismounted from Epona as he walked to the middle of the almost-clearing. He carefully drew the Kokiri Sword.
“So, like my handiwork?” said an unfamiliar voice. Link whipped around to find where the voice was coming from. “I assure you, hero, your adventure will end here!” the owner then dropped right in front of them, a purple Lizalfos.
“And just who are you?” Holo asked.
“That is none of your concern, as it won’t be helpful in the near future.” The Lizalfos then withdrew a gigantic sword, the blade itself jagged and crude, with a somewhat circular design in the blade near the hilt, revealing an open hole. The Lizalfos swung it around with one hand. “Your future, that is.”
Link readied his own blade, though short and stubby in comparison to the opponent’s goliath of a sword, and rushed the creature. As it took a swing at him, he rolled forward, he blade missing my mere inches. He sprung up and quickly stabbed the Lizalfos in the left eye before kicking it back, landing on the ground.
“Aagh!” the Lizalfos screamed in agony, clamping a clawed hand over the wound. It then rushed him, ready to fight again. It took a vertical slash this time, and Link sidestepped. As the beast took a follow-through, Link jumped, then thrusted his feet down on the blade, shoving in into the ground. As the Lizalfos attempted to dig the blade out and go for another strike, Link dashed up the flat end of the sword, and as the beast swung the blade back over its shoulder in an attempt to swat Link again, he leaped off and threw the Kokiri Sword at the Lizalfos, which missed the eye, but struck just above it. The lizard screamed again, and as Link withdrew the blade, ready to kill the snake, it slunk back into the shadows.
“This isn’t over!” it said, before rushing off at a rapid pace.
Link sheathed his sword and hopped back up on Epona, ready to leave.
Holo and Navi just floated beside each other, speechless at the battle that ensued. “Sweet Nayru, that was amazing!” Holo said, quickly flying next to Link. “How in Hyrule did you do that?”
Link glanced back to Navi. “I learned it in the forest.”
It took Navi a moment to come to. Just how did he learn to do that? “Well we might as well continue.” Navi said, flying in front of the crew to lead the way.
“I just hope nothing like that jumps out at us again.” Holo said.
“I think it’s just begun. Whatever we’re caught up in.” Link said. It was like he was a completely different person now.

A harsh light came into view, and stepping out into it, Link had to shade his eyes from it. Once he adjusted, the world of Hyrule came into view, which brought a smile to his face.
“First thing you should do is buy a sword.” Navi said. She then turned around and headed back into the forest.
Link looked at her, then to the Kokiri Sword that hung at his hip. It couldn’t hurt. He kicked Epona lightly, and the horse whinnied before trotting in the direction Link ushered. It would be a while before they reached Castle Town. Link looked back as Epona continued across the great plain. He stared at the forest, the fight he had imprinting on his mind. Something was after him. He needed to find out what. “C’mon.” He said lightly to Epona.  

[Kallori]

Chapter 3

As Link and Epona trotted across the plain, Link’s acute sense of hearing picked up some noise coming from the ranch. He wondered what it was about, and looking down at his steed, decided to head there. Epona needed more than just carrot rations, she needed help.
When Link entered the gates, a familiar snore was the first thing that reached his ear. Talon. Locating the source, he found the pudgy old man sleeping beside the stables, which, upon second glance, appeared longer than when he first visited the ranch. Did they do some renovations? He hopped off Epona and kicked Talon lightly, but just enough to nudge him. Nothing but a wave of the arm, trying to get rid of whatever was bothering the man. Link then kicked him harder. A bit of movement, but still the man didn’t wake. Link slapped his head. Wow, I can’t believe I forgot! Loud noises usually wake up the bugger! He then glanced to Epona, and decided to lead her away from Talon’s resting place. The horse promptly followed, trotting beside the boy as they ventured further into the ranch. It seemed...bigger than before. The field was larger, there was another section attached to the horse run where cattle stood, munching on grass, which also attached to the stables. He looked to his left and saw that the house had grown too. He’d have to get an in-depth look later.
It was around that time that Link heard some shouting between an old, familiar codger and someone that was completely new. But what were they yelling about? Link decided to pop in on them.
“I just don’t understand why the mill is on the opposite side of the field! Why didn’t you build it closer to the stables?” said the new person.
“And I’m telling you,” began the older one. Link recognized him immediately as Ingo, the assistant. He didn’t change at all. “for the last time that’s how we did it, that’s how you do it! Now get back to work!”
The new worker stormed off, picking up his pitchfork, all the while mumbling and cursing. Link watched him go before turning back to Ingo.
“Well, you too, get back to work!” Ingo said, not realizing who he was speaking to.
“Actually, I came to get Epona some nutritious food.” Link turned back to the man. “I’m sure you would agree Ingo.”
Ingo was confused. Had he seen this kid before? “Just who are you, boy?”
“I’m Link. We met seven years ago. I used to have a green outfit, but outgrew that.”
“Lies.” Ingo scoffed before turning his back.
“No! Wait, can prove it!” Link said, trying to gain Ingo’s attention, but the man wasn’t listening. If that’s how he wants it, Link then turned around, heading back to where Talon was. Sucking in a deep breath, he made the best cucco crow he could.
“What in tarnation!?” Talon said, frantically getting to his feet. “Oh, hello. Have we met before?”
“It’s me Link! Fairy boy?”
Talon’s eyes widened. “Link! How’ve you been, m’boy?” he grabbed Link and gave him a big hug.
“I’ve been great, thanks.” Link stifled, his voice hoarse from Talon’s death grip.
“Boy, will Malon be excited to see you! She’s inside getting ready!” Talon then grabbed Link’s hand and rushed for the house, which was only a few yards from their current position.
“Getting ready?” Link asked, clueless.
“Where’ve you been, m’boy? Didn’tja hear?” Link shook his nead. “Malon’s gettin’ married!”
Link’s eyes widened, and Holo, who had remained silent since they arrived, stopped fluttering for a moment.
Link looked to the pasture, where he had seen Ingo argue with someone he didn’t recognize. “Is it...?”
Talon looked at the pasture. “Naw, it ain’t Brant. ‘s someone from the castle town.” He said.
Holo fell on Link’s head. “Well where to now? Should we meet with Malon, or see who this Brant is?”
Though both piqued at Link’s curiosity, he proceeded into the house. Talon followed after him. Link put a hand on the man’s shoulder. “I think I’d like to surprise her myself.” Talon smiled, his thick mustache broadening. He patted Link on the back as the boy went up the stairs. It was where he usually found her when she wasn’t out in the field back in the past. He lightly knocked on the door.
“Who is it?” a cheery voice said, and it was obviously Malon.
“Candy gram.” Link said.
He heard some footsteps and as the door opened, a familiar face greeted him, though the feeling didn’t seem mutual. “Do I know you?” Link pointed to Holo as the fairy flitted about. Malon tilted her head to the side. She didn’t seem to get it right off the bat, so Link used his hands to show he originally wore a long hat. Malon’s face lit up, and Link gave a light sigh that she remembered. “FAIRY BOY!” She said, tackling him to the ground. Link’s head almost hit the rail. “I thought you were gone forever! But now you’re back! It’s so good to see your face again!” she gave him a hug, almost as strong as Talon’s. Link figured it ran in the family. Malon let go, but kept her arms on his shoulders. “So how have you been? Is Epona okay?”
“Yeah, she’s fine. Lost a bit of weight, but it’s nothing a good rancher like you can fix.”
“What do you mean, ‘rancher like me’?” Malon said, suddenly curious.
“Oh, I, um, I didn’t mean it like that...” Link said. “It just, you have more experience than me taking care of animals.”
Malon gave a chortle. “Nice save fairy boy.” She then headed down the stairs. Link just stared in awe. She looked even prettier than when he traveled in the future to save the world from destruction. Her beautiful, wavy red hair bounced with each step she took, and her walk was very graceful and somewhat dainty. It was hard to believe she worked on a ranch. One could think she was from the city with her strides. Link shook his head and followed after her.
“So, not to intrude, but I heard you’re getting married.”
Malon turned her head. “Really? Did Daddy tell you?”
“Indeed he did.”
Malon giggled. “He likes to flaunt his little flower like that.” Link had to figure out what she meant. “But yes. I’m getting married in eight days. We had met four years ago. In Castle Town, of course. We were delivering a new batch of Lon Lon Milk like we do every couple of weeks. It was at the storefront our business partner manages that we locked eyes.”
“You and the man-to-be?” Link asked.
“Yes. He was so handsome.” Link felt attacked at that moment. Was he not handsome? He looked at himself. Of course, he spent several years in the forest, so it would be easy to forget. “Courteous, and polite. Come to think of it, he looked a lot like you, fairy boy. Though there was something different that let me know it wasn’t you.”
“The fairy, I take it?”
“Hey!” Holo said abruptly.
“No, actually. It was something else, some, personal trait or quality that separated you two. But it’s quite hard to put in words.” They exited the house, heading for the pasture. “We’re actually going to have the wedding here. I had to convince him, but eventually he agreed.” They passed a couple of cuccos on the way, which clucked and flew off a distance before settling down again.
“I see you’ve done a lot of work on the ranch here.” Link said.
“Yeah, we managed to expand the stables after we bought three new cows, which let us get even more animals to take care of. Not only do we tend to horses and cows, but also goats, sheep, cuccos, and pigs!”
“Wow, sounds like a lot.” Link said. “How do you manage?”
“Well, we hired Brant shortly after our windfall to help on the ranch, though Ingo doesn’t take too kindly to him, and Daddy’s even begun to work, though still dozes off now and then.” Malon looked over her right shoulder to see her father begin to nod, resting on a pitchfork. “Hold on.” She said, walking over to Talon. “Daddy, wake up!” she yelled.
“What in tarnation?!” Talon said. It seemed that was his go-to response when something abruptly woke him. “Oh, Malon, um..”
“Try to stay awake Daddy. For the animals.”
“Right, right, for the animals.” Talon mumbled to himself as Malon walked back to Link. “For the animals, for the animals...” he repeated to himself.
Ingo stormed over to Link. “Have you seen him? Where is he?”
“Who?” Link asked, intimidated by the sudden verbal attack.
“That no-good scoundrel with the blonde hair! He just up-and vanished!”
Link leaned close to Malon and whispered, “Does he mean Brant?”
Malon nodded. “Ingo, if you’re looking for your trainee, he probably went to the stables.”
“It was where I saw him heading.” Link pitched in. Ingo pushed past the two, partially shoving Link out of the way as he headed into the brown building, violently opening the door before slamming it behind him. It wasn’t long before Ingo came back out.
“Maybe the mill?” Malon said as Ingo stormed past the two.
Link watched him leave. “Wow, I’ve never seen him that serious before.”
Malon looked a little worried. “He never was until we hired Brant. Something about the boy must have caused Ingo to change his mood like that.”
Holo flew over the two’s heads. “Sounds like a little investigating on Brant is in order, huh?”
“Sure does.” Link said, chasing after Ingo. Maybe he could get some hints from the guy. A small flock of cuccos cried out as Link almost ran over them, though he did his best to avoid the animals. He vaulted over a cow, almost cutting Ingo off. “Mind if I join?”
“Fine, but don’t get in my way.” Ingo said. The mill’s that large building up there.” Ingo pointed a finger towards quite a thin structure, in which a large windmill slowly turned in the breeze. The structure itself was made of stone, and had a small extension to it, in which someone could insert something, like hay. “If he is there, he better be working his nose to the grindstone!” Ingo said, rushing towards the structure.
Link, shrugging, simply followed. The large blades of the fan were intimidating, though considering the sheer size of the building, they seemed normal. Link followed Ingo through a door on the front. Nothing but a bale of hay. Ingo grinded his teeth before storming out. Link watched him go, then turned back and looked up. He saw what looked to be... Brant?
“I thought he’d never leave.” Brant said, sitting on a rafter.
“How in Hyrule did you get up there in the first place?” Holo asked.
“I climbed.” Brant said. “Honestly, it sounds like you don’t believe me.”
Link looked around. There were no ledges or indentations to even grip the wall. Link gave Brant a suspicious look before heading for the door.
“Wait, before you go,” Brant said, leaping from his position, and landing in front of Link, almost like he didn’t take any pain at all. Any normal person wouldn’t be able to do that without taking some kind of pain or injuring themselves. Link just became even more suspicious, and clenched his right hand. “Have we met before?”
Link was caught off guard. “I’m not sure.” Now that he got a closer look at the boy, he looked awfully a lot like himself, with blonde hair and blue eyes. However, his attire was completely different, a simple white t-shirt and blue overalls with brown work boots. Was he the person Malon described? No, it couldn’t be, because Talon had told him the groom was from the city. Odd, two people so far that were almost identical to him, though different in one aspect. “I saw you arguing with Ingo earlier, but that’s it.”
Brant cocked his head. “Really? I swear we’ve met before though.” He paused, walking past Link and heading for the door. “Maybe it’s just my imagination.” He then left, closing the door behind him.
Link and Holo just remained there, speechless for moments on end. “Well THAT was weird...”
“Oh, good, I thought it was just me.” Link said, proceeding out the door. Though they found Brant, it seemed like Link’s detective work was far from over. How’d he survive that fall? Why do they look the same? And is he... No, Link thought, dismissing the last one. Surely Link would find out if the boy was sincere. By any means necessary.  

[Kallori]

Chapter 4

Night rose over the vast land of Hyrule, and with the sight of a full moon, so too came the howl of a Wolfos. Link had been given guard duty that night, and as he sat outside holding a lantern, he continuously drifted in and out of sleep. Holo did his best to keep the boy awake, though even the fairy was growing tired.
“How much longer?” Link yawned, the words barely discernible.
Holo drifted gently down, before resting on Link’s head. “I think it’s been four hours.”
Ugh,” Link moaned, leaning back until he was resting against the wall. “It feels like it’s been longer than that.”
“Tell me about it.”
As Link started to doze off again, he thought he saw something ominous. Sitting up and rubbing his eyes, he found nothing. The flat prairie that was Hyrule Field was still the same as ever; quiet.. With the assurance of no immediate threat, Link drifted off again. Soon, he was in a deep sleep.

“Well, he’s finally asleep.”
“That he is Farras.” Majar waved a hand, and the pool that the two were spying through rippled, going back to its normal, dormant state. “Who should we sic on him?”
“Well, Kalekos is still recovering, but we’ve got Lizzrobe and Cobralfos ready and willing to have a taste of him.”
“And Aislin?”
Farras paused. “I actually haven’t seen her recently.” He turned to look Majar in the eye. “And I don’t know why.”
Majar grumbled lowly. “Very well. Send Cobralfos in.”
“Aye.” And with that, Farras flew out of the room.
“Make sure to bring him alive!” Majar called after the bat.

As the night hours dragged on, and a light cloud cover settled in, somewhat covering the moon, Link and Holo continued to sleep.
A hiss was heard, giving the boy a stir, but not waking him. Though in the night shadows, two eyes were plainly visible, with a slight yellow hue. The beast they belonged to studied the boy, and making sure he wasn’t bothered, proceeded for the ranch. I’ll just leave him here. Sometime later, the beast slithered out, slinking back to the shadows and out of sight altogether.
Link sniffed the air in his sleep, and his face twisted. Slowly waking up, he heard noises. Odd noises. Then a scream. Link jumped to his feet. “MALON!”
Rushing into the ranch, he found that the stables were burning, and so was the grass. The animals were all in a panic. Horses neighed, rearing up from the creeping flames. Instinctively, Link withdrew his sword and busted in the house. “Malon!” he cried out, rushing up the stairs. “Malon!” He pounded on the door to her room. “Malon! Are you in there?”
A cough was heard, though quiet from behind the door. Link kicked it, but it didn’t bust down. It wasn’t as weak as the front door seemed to be, so he just turned the knob and dashed in to save her. “Are you alright?”
Malon coughed on the fumes. “L-Link?” she said weakly. “Thank Farore...” she then fainted, and Link caught her. It seemed the air was too much to handle for her. Shifting her position in his arms, he proceeded for the door, but a rafter fell, blocking his path. Link merely pushed it aside with his boot, lucky that his foot didn’t ignite in doing so. Rather than take the stairs, he vaulted over the rail, landing hard on the first floor, but in doing so, pain flared in his legs. I forgot about that. He then rushed out into the open field in the ranch. “Brant! Talon! Ingo!” Link shouted. He saw the two older workers stumbling together, trying to head for a safe patch of grass. “Oh, Thank Farore you guys are alive!”
“What do you mean?” Ingo spat. “You were supposed to be on guard duty! And look what happened!”
“Is Malon safe?” Talon coughed.
“She’s right here.” Link said. “She passed out as I rescued her though.”
“Any sign of Brant?” Holo asked the two. Talon shook his head. Ingo gave a glance to the stables.
Link caught what he meant. “Take her.” He passed Malon to Ingo before rushing for the door to the stables. The stench of fire, burning wood, and bacon filled his nose as he did so. He tried kicking the door down again, but it seemed this was also strong. Grumbling, he fiddled with the knob and thrust it open. “Brant! Are you in here?”
“Over...here...” he heard the man say, though with the state of the building, tons of wood and assorted materials lay between the two.
“How do you plan on getting over there?” Holo asked, worried for both their safety. Without saying anything, Link vaulted onto the pile before leaping over to Brant’s location. “Wow.”
“Here, grab onto me!” Link offered a hand, and eventually his arm for Brant to grab. The boy rested his arm on Link’s shoulders, and Link firmly grasped the boy’s waist. He wouldn’t be able to get back without some cooperation. “Alright, on three, we jump! One, two, three!” Fortunately, Brant had the strength to follow orders, and the two landed on the large pile of wood. However, Brant slipped, and Link quickly grabbed his arm. Some more rafters came down, but were far from their location. The flames licked at Link’s feet, and tried to creep up Brant’s legs. “Hold on! I’ve got you!”
Brant looked up, and gave a light smile. “It was...nice to...” but his sentence was cut off as a large chunk of the roof crashed down, burying him. Only his arm was visible, as Link still clung to it.
“Get out Link!” Holo ushered. “While you’re still alive!”
Link closed his eyes for a moment, silently bidding Brant farewell as he made his way out of the building. Eventually, it collapsed in on itself from the flames.
“Link!” Talon yelled as he ran towards the boy. “Link, are you hurt?”
“I’m fine.” Link said, burns and scars all over his face and clothes. “How’s Malon?”
“She’s fine. She came to while you were in there.” Talon paused. “And Brant?” Link shook his head. “I see.”
“Link?” Malon called from the distance. Looking up, Link saw her rushing over, with Ingo following at a slower pace. “Oh my Din, are you alright?” she knelt down, looking at his appearance.
Link staggered, collapsing to one knee. He huffed, exhausted, before passing out.

---

“Well that didn’t work.” Farras called from the archway.
Majar gritted his teeth. “Cobralfos will pay for it later. I will make sure of that.” He whipped around, storming out of the room.
“Going back to the altar?”
“We’ve wasted too much time, and our master must be awakened to kill the Hero himself. If we do it, he’ll only kill us for belief of deception.”
“Gotcha.”

---

Link slowly woke up. Was it all a dream? Through lazy eyes, he looked around. He was in a room, and someone was there with him.
“Oh good. You’re finally awake.”
“Malon?” Link’s voice was hoarse and weak. “The house...”
Malon let out a sigh. “The fire’s died. A harsh rain came sometime after you passed out, fortunately.” She paused. “I don’t think it’s let up though.”
“The others?”
“Daddy and Ingo are downstairs. They buried Brant’s remains next to the stables. Or, what’s left of them.”
Link sighed, giving a light smile. “That’s...nice....”
“It’s gonna take months to recover the ranch though...”
Link struggled to sit up. “Malon, I’m sorry for whatever happened to cause that.”
“No Link, there’s no way you could’ve stopped it.” Malon grabbed his left hand and gently held it. “Let it go.”
Link hesitated. “I guess you’re right.” Though when he looked at Malon, with her loving expression and gentle sapphire eyes, Link just couldn’t bring himself to argue with her. “Maybe I should stick around, yknow, help out and all that?”
Malon giggled. “I would very much like that, fairy boy.”

Later that day, when the rain had let up, though was still dripping, Link stepped out to find Talon standing in front of a shoddy-looking cross made of scrap wood. The ground was turned up in front of it, and Link guessed that was where they buried Brant. He took his place beside Talon.
“He wasn’t bad.” Talon said.
“No, he wasn’t.” Link sucked in a breath. “Not a bad person at all.”
“It’s a shame to lose such a nice lad.”
“Yeah.” Link said. The two stood there, silent, as if mourning the loss. During Link’s time in the future, while he was kept in the Sacred Realm, he could only imagine just what became of them. But it wasn’t what happened-it was the eventual fate they received; Death. Those he fought to protect, to save, he didn’t think for once about those that had already suffered. “Sure is.”
The rain picked up a bit then, the noise all that could be heard throughout the ranch. The two took their leave.
“It’s sure gonna take a miracle to get this place up an’ runnin’ again.”
“I’m not going anywhere fast.” Link turned to Talon as they walked to the house. “I could help wherever possible.”
“Really? Thanks a ton!” Talon patted Link on the back. “I’m sure with your help, we’ll be back to normal!”
“It’s the least I could do.”

Over the course of the next five days, Link helped around the ranch wherever he could. He refurbished the den in the house, pitched in with what little animals they could afford and those that managed to survive, fed them, gathered hay, and helped set up decorations for Malon’s wedding that Talon and Ingo assigned him. Talon kept dozing off, so it was mainly Ingo that ordered him around. Malon especially appreciated the help, and even said to him that she wished they could marry, though laughed shortly after.
On the sixth day, they did as best they could to touch up the place in preparation for the big day, and the arrival of the groom. Link really wondered if he looked like Malon described. Ingo and Talon had on ties, and Link tried his best to look the part. Fortunately Malon offered him a new tunic.
“Wow, I didn’t know you could sew!”
“So do you like it?” Malon asked, tilting her head.
Link twisted his left wrist, the glove fitting nicely, though it was certainly different from the one he had during his trip to the future. Even the tunic was relatively the same, though the shade of green was slightly darker. “Very much. But you shouldn’t have.”
“It just feels right seeing you like that. You remind me so much of our time as kids in that.”
Link smiled. “Yeah, I guess I do.” Malon gave a cheerful expression. “Oh, that reminds me,” Link searched for the bag he had attached to Epona’s saddle, which held the rations he had during his time in the forest. He found it lying on the table, and quickly picked it up. Rummaging through it, he found his old cap. “It’s nothing much, but now that I have a new one, I’d like to give my old hat to you.” He then offered it to Malon.
“Oh, fairy boy,” Malon gently took the cap. She held it close to her bosom. “It’s wonderful.” She sniffed it. “It smells a lot like the forest. Although it is nice, I’m not sure I can wear it. At least, not right now.”
Link nodded. “It’s the thought that counts though.”
“Indeed.” Malon said, looking at the cap. “Well, better get prepared.”
“Right, I’ll catch ya outside.” Link said, leaving through the door. It took him half a day just to fasten it back on.
Outside, Ingo and Talon puttered about the horse run, where the ceremony was going to be held. As Link walked towards the two, he passed many flower pots and under a couple archways. It was amazing they could afford all of it. However, the area ahead didn’t appear to live up to the standards the path had set in terms of a proper wedding. But then again, this was a ranch, not the city.
“Ah, Link, you think you could,” Talon gestured to an archway that was lying on the ground.
“Oh, sure.” He walked over to an end, while Talon took the other, and Ingo, the center. The three hoisted the large archway up, and as they did, Link and Talon shifted up the legs to help plant it without the archway tipping over.
“That should just do it.” Talon said. “Thanks son.”
“It was nothing.” Link said, trying to regain his breath. The thing was heavier than it looked.
“Ingo, have you seen the groom?”
Ingo shook his head. “He should be coming later.” All three of them looked up at the sky, seeing the position of the sun. “At the very least, before dusk.”
“That gives us about, say, five hours?” Link estimated. Though he was never sure, always running around everywhere.
The other two nodded. “Somethin’ like that.” Talon said. “Link, why don’t you sit by the gate to welcome the lad?” Ingo raised an eyebrow at Talon.
“Sure.” Link then proceeded to the gates, not particularly eager to sit by them again. Especially after his last screw-up. He just hoped nothing would strike out at him while he did it.

“No sign of him?” Holo asked, flying up to Link.
“No.” Link glanced out at the prairie ahead of him. No one was coming, that was for certain. Not even any out-of-town merchants had passed while he waited.
“Maybe he forgot?”
“How could someone forget something as important as a wedding?”
Holo was at a loss. “I don’t know, it’s never happened to me before!
Link sighed. “Well he better get here.”

---

Farras hung from a statue that jutted outwards at the top, watching Majar chant away. He could never say those words, much less try to read from a book. He couldn’t even hold a book, so if he ever had thoughts about betraying his comrade, he always dismissed them, fearing that Majar would kill him. He knew not to interrupt the demon, but he had news to say, albeit minor detailed. Maybe he could catch Majar at a break, but he’d have to be quick about it, and he knew that Majar’s breaks were few and far between. It could be hours, even days before he could say his news. So with that thought in mind, he flew off.
“Leaving so soon Farras?”
“Oh, I didn’t know you reached a break.”
“You obviously underestimate me. So what news do you bring, and make it quick.”
“I was just wondering why we haven’t attacked in days. They’ve managed to rebuild some of the ranch from Cobralfos’ work, but the Hero still lives!”
“What?” Majar said, rather angrily too. “That vermin just won’t die!”
“Should we send another?”
“No.”
“No?”
“I said before, Master must be the one to kill him. Sending another would not only assume his death, but put ours in jeopardy.”
“So do nothing?”
“For the time being.” Majar then picked up where he left off in his mysterious chants. Rising his master certainly wasn’t easy.
Farras flew out, ready to spy on the hero again.  

[Kallori]

Chapter 5

Talon stood nervously on the crate. Link, who was now deemed Best Man, stood off to the side. Ingo, on the other hand, paced nervously-and angrily-back and forth.
“I’ll go check again.” Ingo said, heading for the gates.
Talon tugged at his bowtie, sweat forming on his brow.
“Nervous?” Link asked, though the question seemed rhetorical. Talon nodded. “Feeling’s mutual.”
“I just hope my little flower isn’t too upset if he doesn’t show.”
Link thought about that for a moment. Malon would be upset, especially on this auspicious day.
Half an hour later, Ingo came back, shaking his head.
“Well great.” Holo said. “Looks like it’s a no-show.”
“Don’t give up Holo.” Link paused. “It’s still a while before dusk.”
“Yeah, about fourteen minutes.” Ingo retorted.

Malon walked over to the window, seeing that dusk was nearing. It would soon be time for her to come out. She stifled a small noise of glee as she headed for the door in a slim wedding dress, veil and all, before walking down the stairs.

Talon tugged at the tie again, more sweat on his brow. Even Ingo had begun to worry, and it was showing, as he was sweating as well. Link, also, was feeling pressured. He glanced to Epona, as she was the ride when the ceremony was over. They had tied a small sign saying “just hitched” to the saddle on either side of the steed. Link then looked back to the two men.
Malon came out a second later, walking down the aisle they laid out. The trio whipped around, now shocked that dusk had fallen and the groom had yet to arrive. They did their best to cover up their sweat, though using their shirts wouldn’t exactly hide it.
As Malon reached the makeshift altar, her smile turned upside-down. “Where...”
“We’re sorry.” Link said. Malon lowered her head. “Well Holo, looks like the show’s over.” After a moment, they all walked away from their positions.
Malon, on the other hand, remained where she was. Tears started forming in the corners of her eyes, but she never let it get any worse. “Wait!” she called, whipping around, and her dress flowing accordingly. All three of them stopped. “What if...I married...Link?”
“What?” each of them said one after the other.
“I mean...it’s just...” Malon stifled.
Link looked to Talon, then Ingo, and back to Malon. He was still dumbstruck about the sudden idea. “I suppose...”
Talon sighed, relieved that the day was saved. Ingo nearly fainted. “Good idea! The show must go on, as they say!” Talon said.
“But, there is one thing I would like.” She looked at Link, with an expression that suggested he knew what she was getting at.
“What?” Talon asked.
“Um, I think I know.” Link said.
“Then will you get it?” Malon said, removing her veil.
Link nodded, taking the veil and heading into the house. Briskly opening the door, he rushed up the stairs, figuring Malon might’ve placed it somewhere in her room. Eventually he found it, and promptly headed back outside. Slowing his run, he approached Malon, and though said nothing, somehow knew what she wanted. Malon lowered her head as Link fit his old cap over her head, the hair slightly bunching up at the neck. They then took each other’s hands and walked down the aisle.
“Alright, let’s see how much of that city slang I know.” Talon cleared his throat. “Dearly beloved, we are gathered here to cherish these two in loving matrimony, and share the bond of eternal love.”
Malon giggled. “I’m not sure that’s how it goes, but go on Daddy.”
“Right, well, then Link, do you take Malon to be your wife?”
Link looked at Malon. “I do.”
“And do you, Malon,” Talon had to wipe a tear from his eye. It must be tough seeing his only daughter finally grown up. “take Link to be your husband?”
“I do.”
“Then with the power in me, I pronounce you lawfully wedded husband and wife. You may kiss the bride!”
Link and Malon took a moment to gaze into each other’s eyes, before they kissed. Talon refrained from letting his emotions get the better of him, and Ingo even started to tear up. Seems the crusty old git has emotions after all. Link then helped Malon onto Epona before climbing on himself. Giving the horse a good kick, they raced off and over one of the large fences that made up the perimeter of the ranch, while Talon and Ingo waved goodbye.

Wondering where to go, Malon suggested they tour the whole of Hyrule for their honeymoon of sorts. Link thought that was a good idea too, and they decided to head north to the castle as their first stop. In the marketplace, Link found a deal on a Pictograph Box, and decided to get it to take pictures of their marriage. Though the soldiers were strict at first, Link told them they weren’t going to cause trouble, and just wanted to visit. Eventually, they got permission and headed into the large courtyard. Seeing so much of the castle, Link wondered what Zelda was doing these days. He also bought a new shield before they left.
After the castle, they headed for Kokiri Forest. Link told Malon how he grew up here, set out on a great quest, and made friends and enemies among the Kokiri. The two wandered around, and even chatted with a few of the Kokiri. Link didn’t see Mido anywhere, and wondered if he was here or deep in the woods. A few female Kokiris gathered around Malon and gawked at her dress. One even wanted to become part of the family, and everybody just laughed. Malon wanted a group shot to remember this, and Link set the pictograph box on a stump, set the timer, and took the picture. After enjoying a small feast of forest food, Link and Malon set out for their next stop.
Onto their next destination, Zora’s Domain, they had to leave Epona behind, though the bean seller nearby promised to look after her. As they made their way up to the waterfall that was the entrance, Link dug out the Ocarina of Time and played Zelda’s Lullaby. Malon wondered how he knew that particular song would open the way, and Link told her he learned it in his journeys. Entering the domain itself, Link and Malon saw many Zoras swimming in the basin. They even visited the King, though he wondered where his daughter had run off to. Because of the basic law of time paradoxes, Link didn’t know if Ruto was a sage or not, so he said he didn’t know. The two then stood at the top of the waterfall, enjoying the view, and then Malon pushed Link. She laughed as he fell, and he called after her to join him. Eventually she jumped off, not entirely caring for her dress. Giving a big splash, she surfaced and playfully patted her hand on the water’s surface, splashing Link. He joined in, enjoying the moment.
As they left, and waved their goodbyes, they decided to shower in the waterfall just outside the entrance to the domain, and let their clothes dry on a few nearby rocks.
“So where should we go next?” Link asked.
“You’re in a hurry to go? You don’t want to stay here a while?” Malon pressed up against Link’s stomach, stroking a finger over his chest.
Link blushed a little, though it was hard to tell with the water washing over them, providing a constant shadow. “Course not, I’m just asking before we get back there.”
Malon tilted her head, her once wavy hair now straight and dripping. “Hm. You need to learn to take it slow, fairy boy.” She started to massage his shoulders. “Learn to relax.”
It wasn’t urgent that he get to their stop, but with the amount of adventure he had, there was little room to dawdle. Now that there was no present threat looming over him, he figured that he could at least try to slow down. He took Malon’s arms-he didn’t know why, and wasn’t sure if he was getting anywhere with it, but went ahead with it. Malon gave him an affectionate expression, as she turned around, leaning on him. Link blinked a couple times, curious at Malon’s action. He wasn’t sure what to do here either.
“Is something wrong, fairy boy?” Malon asked, looking up at him.
“No. Nothing’s wrong. I’ve just never been in this situation before.”
“Well neither have I, but look where it’s going.” Malon closed her eyes. “Take me.”
“What?”
“Oh, did you spend too many years in the forest?” Malon looked up at him.
You don’t even know, I think I did.”
“Oh, you poor thing.” Malon rubbed her hand down his cheek before moving it under his chin. “Here, I’ll lead.” She then moved in to kiss him. Link met her, and what followed was perhaps their most romantic moment together, as they caressed each other, sometimes letting out noises in between breaths.
Holo sat near the clothes, watching the two have quite an erotic moment. It almost sickened him, but then again, he didn’t know if Link ever got any of it before. Running off what he knew of the boy, probably not, since he claims to have spent so long in the forest.
The carnal action came to a stop, when Malon drew away. “Wow, you’re good for a beginner, fairy boy!”
Link gasped for breath. “I thought I might have done something wrong.”
“Oh, no, you were amazing.” Malon stepped out of the small basin. “Well, we should probably go to our next vacation spot.”
Now it seemed the other way around, and Link really didn’t know what to say. Eventually, he came out of the basin himself, and the two dried off with a couple of towels they had borrowed from the Zora’s guest hall before putting their clothes back on.
When they got back to Epona, the bean seller waved goodbye, and they thanked him for watching the horse. They tossed around ideas on where they should go next before mutually deciding to head to the desert. It would help dry them off, and they’d possibly get a chance to go to the colossus.
As soon as they reached the valley, Link saw that the bridge was out. Not again, “Hold on, Malon!” He then kicked Epona, spurring her ahead, and leaped over the gap. Link looked back to see Malon with a frightened face. He assured her it was fine now, and she calmed down. They reached the fortress, and headed straight for the gate to the wasteland. Link had to explain that they were on a honeymoon, and quite vociferously at that. Eventually, the guard complied, and permitted access to the wasteland. It would be tough getting Epona through it, but Link would do his best to keep all three of them from dying.
After a couple of hours, they reached the colossus, and instantly, Leevers started biting at Epona’s hooves. Link spurred the steed, and they raced for the entrance of the temple. When they touched stone, the Leevers went away, back to burrow for another victim. Malon wanted to explore the temple before them, and Link agreed, but silently said to himself that he’d protect her from anything that may pop out. Malon gazed in awe at the sheer volume of detail here, and wondered just what it was used for. Link was going to explain it was a hideout of the Gerudo, but refrained. They took a pictograph at the top of the stairs. Although they wanted to stay longer, it seemed they couldn’t, as both paths were blocked.
They departed for Kakariko Village, and reached it near dusk. It had been a while since Malon had visited the town during their trips to deliver goods. However, Link had a more foreboding sense about the town, as he not once, but twice, dove into the scariest places he knew. Not to mention Death Mountain loomed over the town in the distance. He shook his head, trying to clear his mind of such thoughts, and just enjoy himself. Malon wanted to try the new game shop, and Link was also curious. There wasn’t much to its name in the sign, but as they went in, discovered it was an archery game. However, the targets were a little untraditional. They were each given a bow, and to see if they could beat the high score of three thousand points, to which they did on their first try. The shop owner congratulated the two, and awarded three hundred rupees to them. Link and Malon decided to see what else the town had to offer.
As night drew, Link and Malon rode to Lake Hylia to enjoy a good view of the starry sky and to also go fishing, the latter being Link’s idea. The fisherman that was the owner of the fishing pond seemed to recognize Link, but it was probably in part to his attire and what he remembered the man saying he was the only customer. Once they bought their rods, they both wandered around the shore to sit down on a couple of rocks. They just fished for fun, for hours even. Link caught an eleven-pounder, though Malon was the winner, with a whopping fourteen-pounder. Link captured this moment with a pictograph.

They eventually returned to the ranch, if only to crash, and let Malon change out of her wedding dress and into her regular clothes. When Link woke up, he found Malon back in routine and cooking breakfast. Link coaxed her to stop her habits for now, and just enjoy the rest of their celebratory vacation.
“Alright, but after I finish cooking.” Malon said.
Link gave a smirk. “Well, yeah, finish that. Kinda a waste if you stopped in the middle of it.” The two laughed.
Once Malon finished her meal, they set out again. Taking Epona with them for a second time, they headed back to Castle Town.
“So, what shall we do today?” Malon asked.
“I’m not sure. Maybe we’ll find out when we get there.”
The market seemed strangely more barren than usual. Weird, the sun was still out. Did something happen? What is the meaning of this?
Oh, look, there’s a circus in town!” Malon said, pointing off to the left. Link shook his head, and once he opened his eyes, suddenly it was as bustling as it usually was. “I don’t remember seeing it there yesterday, so they must be just setting up.”
“Yeah, that’s probably it.” Link said rather glumly.
“Hey, what’s with you?” Holo asked. He had remained rather silent the past few days.
“Nothing.” Link said. Malon looked at Holo, who had the same clueless expression about Link’s attitude. Link shook his head, trying to regain a sense of joy in the world. “So where do you want to go, hon?”
Malon looked around. There was so much to offer, even though the majority was stores. The circus was still setting up, so that was a no for the point being. She hopped off Epona, and began to wander around, trying to decide where to go.
Holo turned to Link. “What was that about? You trying to ruin your marriage or something?”
“No, it was...something else.” Link paused, trying to find words. “It was like, everything was gone, like it had become a ghost town.”
“Really? You sure you weren’t hallucinating?”
“I’m sure.” Link hesitated. “Though now I fear for Malon’s safety. I think something evil is going to happen.”
“Ganon?”
Before Link could respond, he heard Malon shout, “Hey fairy boy, they got air balloon rides!”
Link lightly prodded Epona to walk over to Malon, who was standing in front of a hot air balloon, with a small storefront which behind it stood a somewhat bored man. Link dismounted, and walked up to the man.
“It’s fifty rupees a ticket.” He said. He sounded depressed.
“Great, we’ll take two.” Link dug into his pocket and pulled out two purple rupees. The man took the rupees, then moved over to the basket, extending an arm. Link helped Malon get in, though practically leaped in himself. The man cut the rope and the two were off.
Malon sighed, looking at the sight as they rose into the air. “Isn’t it wonderful?”
“Yeah, sure is.” Link had to admit, it was a grand sight. Never had he seen Hyrule from this height before, and it almost took his breath away.
They sailed over the great prairie, and it was a magical feeling.
“Hey, we should get a picture of us with the ranch!” Malon said, excited.
Link smiled. “Great idea!” He dug out the pictograph box again, and held it at arm’s length, doing his best to get both their faces in it and the ranch off in the distance. It took a little adjusting, but he managed to capture all three of them and the ranch.
Malon leaned against Link, sighing contently. “This is going to be the best honeymoon ever.”
“Yeah, it’s great.” Link’s face then turned to that of concern once Malon had closed her eyes. Great Hylia, please protect her.  

[Kallori]

Chapter 6

Kalekos grumbled, gently rubbing a clawed hand over the bandage that covered her wounded eye. She was absolutely humiliated, the captain of the guard being overcome by a loathsome brat with a sword that was an embarrassment to even be called that. Now she had to rely on those she trained to go in her stead, though she highly doubted they would succeed. Although she prefer to tough out her wounds, she was rather grateful that Majar had patched her up.
“Captain, Cobralfos is on his way.” An underling said as he came into the room. He was an orange Lizalfos with a lance and hefty shield.
“Very well.”
As the Lizalfos stepped aside, Cobralfos slithered in, tongue flicking every so often. “It ssseemsss we need a better sstrategy than jussst lissstening to Majar’sss ordersss.” His voice hissed with every ‘s’.
“Indeed. But Majar is Master’s most trusted ally. And last I heard, he was still in the process of resurrecting our lord.”
Cobralfos grumbled. “How much longer do we have to sssit by and let thisss weakling of a hero foil our plansss?”
“That weakling is the reason I’m in this fix!” Kalekos blew up in Cobralfos’ face, pointing to the bandage over her eye. “Even if we have to sit idly by, we cannot let our guard down!”
“My apologiesss, Captain.” Cobralfos lowered his head. “There mussst be sssomething we can do to ssstall the hero.”
“Majar and Farras are the only two known to spy on him, not to mention know where the fountain is.” Kalekos rested her head in a hand, leaning on the arm of her chair. “I haven’t seen that miserable bat anywhere though.” She paused. “Have you heard from Lizzrobe?”
“He’sss been sssitting in hisss room meditating or sssomething lassst I sssaw.”
“Wouldn’t hurt to pay a visit.” Kalekos rose from her seat. “Guard the room.” She told the orange Lizalfos, who saluted and began pacing as the two moved down the many corridors and hallways of the castle.
“Majar hasss alssso been wondering where Aissslin disssappeared off to.” Cobralfos said. “Come to think of it, I haven’t either.”
“Did that filthy Hylian play traitor?” Kalekos remarked. “I smelled a rat when Majar first took her on as a simple apprentice.”
“No, I don’t think that’sss it, though I’m not denying the posssibility.”
The two reached Lizzrobe’s room, and true to Cobralfos’ word, he was standing absolutely still. Small pots aflame with black fire circled the outer perimeter. Before they could say anything, Lizzrobe spoke. “Patience is key. The treasure lies on the far side.”
“Yeah, yeah, we get that you speak in riddles.” Kalekos said, slightly annoyed. “Can you tell us anything about the hero?”
“The hero...” Lizzrobe trailed off. “Face him with his own. Make no mistake.”
“Faccce him with hisss own?” Cobralfos parroted. “What the Vaati doesss that mean?”
Kalekos scratched her chin. “Maybe it’s that rotten Hylian’s turn to take him down.”

“Kaleu doma rikni esto, tomah fihn asell, Kaleu doma forsith gormba akis...” Majar repeated the line at least five times over, flipping pages in the book every so often. It was taking a long time to get his master to rise, but the filthy goddesses placed such a simple yet intricate spell on him, it was proving to be a challenge. Fortunately for Majar, he could go on forever with no breaks. He was an interesting demon, almost as old as his master, but not as susceptible to falling prey to the spirits. Although he had tasked Farras with spying on the hero, he did not sense the bat anywhere in the castle. No matter, he could wait.

A girl with pale lavender hair stood in the shadows of a building. She had seen a strangely-garbed boy and what looked to be the farm girl that came to town now and then get in a hot air balloon. Turning to leave, she looked around, making sure no one was around. Assuring her solitude, she entered a boarded-up house down the alleyway. Now, let’s get to it. She moved the bed-the mattress off to the side-to reveal a strange portal that glowed blue and black. She took a step into it, and her surroundings warped and twisted, changing color and even texture. As soon as everything calmed down, the girl seemed to be in a whole different world. Her outfit changed as well, from rugged everyday clothes to purple armor, albeit scanty. “Alright Farras, lay it on me.”
“You’re late.” Farras called from the roof. He flapped down to sit on a nearby dresser. “Move the bed back.”
“Right.” The girl said, turning around. The bed was more run-down than its counterpart. That didn’t affect her ability in moving it.
“Everyone’s been wondering about you, and Majar is in the process of raising our Master. The least you could do is come to the castle!” Farras coughed. “Your Venomess.” Though that was the title they gave the woman, he loathed to say it, as she always commanded Farras to address her by it.
“I appreciate the sympathy, but I’ve been working here until the hero came.”
“We know THAT. What we don’t understand is your complete disregard for informing us otherwise.”
“That’s because I haven’t seen him until just now. He got in a balloon with the farm girl.”
“And you didn’t do anything?”
“Too many eyes.”
Farras was silent for a moment. “Good point.” He then started to flap his wings. “I’ll go on ahead and tell Majar of your work. You continue to lie in wait until he comes back.”
“Wait, what?”
“Don’t question me, you filthy Hylian! Know who you work for, as well as your place. Now you have your orders.” Farras then flew under the bed. “Don’t fail Aislin, or we’ll know.” And with that, he was gone.
Aislin grumbled. She didn’t know why she was stuck in Castle Town, waiting for the hero. She wanted to act, to do something, but unless she was told to, she had to sit and watch. Shifting the bed, she was about to leave when Farras popped back in. He seemed out of breath.
“Well that was quick.”
“Shut up. It’s your turn.” He then flew off.
Aislin grinned. Finally, her turn to lay waste to the hero. All she had to do was wait for him to return. In the meantime, she walked around, leaving the broken down house. It was a little difficult with her armor, so she smashed part of the boards with her flail. Walking out into the open, she saw absolutely nobody. But the landscape was intriguing. Such was the way of the Dark World. Swinging her flail, she strutted into the open plaza, glancing around every so often. She leaned up by the fountain, deciding to save some strength. Her face narrowed shortly after. Did she see...footsteps? It was as if someone was walking by, but no one was in front of her. Could they be from someone in the Light World? Aislin rubbed her eyes, and more footprints came into view. They seemed to be going everywhere. They must be the physical representation of Light dwellers to someone in the Dark World, though it was the full shadow and footprints the other way around. She looked against a wall, lit up by an unknown source, and waited.
There! A shadow of someone passed by. She glanced at the ground, and saw the footprints that belonged to the shadow. Many shadows passed by, and it was hard to make them out. Hesitating, she returned to the house, moved the bed and entered the portal. Though she lost her stuff for the time being, she’d get them later. She’d play some kind of trick on the hero when he was alone, though would have to get rid of that farm girl somehow. She pondered ideas as she became lost in the crowd.  

[Kallori]

Chapter 7

“Well done young ones.” A strange voice said.
“Thank you father.” Said another, younger than the first.
“Surely you two are destined for greatness. It was foretold by our ancestors that you would rise up to aid in our cause.” The figure speaking turned around, revealing a person clad in green. He looked at both children, who also bore resemblance, though were more easily distinguishable.
“Just doing what you taught us.” The third chimed, with a slight grin.
The one in green chuckled. “That’s what I like to hear! Now, there is still one pressing matter...”
“What is it father?” the first child asked.
“I fear my life may be near its end, that someone or something is on its way here to kill me.” The figure paused. “But in order to truly torment both me and both of you, I think it might be coming disguised as me.” The children quickly put a hand on their blades, ready to strike. “We must make sure it is dead, so that we can exist in peace.”
“Don’t worry father, with us by your side, we’ll help defeat it!” the second child replied.
“You are certainly loyal. Very well, leave here and look for the one like me!” as the two children left, the figure’s face became more discernible, a dark intent evident, “Eradicate the ‘hero’!”

“GAH!” Link shouted, bolting upright.
“Whoa!” Malon said, falling off Link’s lap and hitting her head on the bottom of the basket. “Ow!” she looked at Link, “What was that about?”
“I...had a nightmare.” Link replied. “A vision maybe.”
“What was it about?” Holo asked from Link’s head.
“It...seemed to be...about me.” Link paused. “But...different. I wasn’t there, but it sounded like...”
“Are you suggesting something’s after you?” Holo asked.
Link shook his head. “I don’t know. I haven’t had dreams like this since...” he trailed off, realizing something. Since I left the forest for the first time.
“Since when?” Holo asked.
“Since I was young.” Link didn’t want to scare Malon any more than he already had in the last five minutes.
“Oh, honey,” Malon got down on her knees. “You must be troubled.” She got up, and looked at the sky, realizing it was dark. “We should probably get back to Castle Town in the morning.”
“I’ll get us there.”
Malon looked at Link, slightly surprised. “Are you sure fairy boy?”
“I just...don’t want to have another nightmare like that.”
“Alright then. Don’t fall.” Malon said, lying down to go back to sleep.
As Link leaned over the side trying to pilot the hot air balloon, Holo jumped from Link’s head to the edge of the basket. “What did you see exactly?”
“I saw...me. Though it wasn’t me per se. There were also two others, a couple of boys. They kept calling the first ‘father’, though I don’t know why.”
“Well there’s a good explanation they could’ve been this person’s kids.”
“True, but, it felt...wrong. Like they weren’t really his kids.”
“Adoption?”
“No. Something darker.” Link sighed. “I fear evil forces are trying to take over Hyrule again, though from that dream, it definitely wasn’t Ganon.”
“It’s possible some third party is at work here.” Holo flew off the basket before hovering around Link’s head.
Dawn slowly broke over the prairie, and the drawbridge on the town walls slowly opened as the balloon sailed over them. Link slowly dropped the flame level, making the balloon descend, and he did his best to land it. He shook Malon lightly, and the two hopped out. Getting back on Epona, who had waited the entire time by the owner of the stall, they rode off for the ranch. A girl with lavender hair noticed and rushed after them.
“Excuse me, miss?” a guard asked. “Do you know them?”
Thinking quickly, the girl replied, “Those are my friends! And they left me here!”
“I’m sure they’ll be back, miss. Would you mind waiting?”
Grumbling, the girl replied with a simple “Fine...”

---

The entire day, Link and Malon helped around the ranch, seeing as they had nothing else to do. With the loss of Brant, Link just felt he needed to do something to help them along and get back to their former glory. Talon thanked Link for his assistance, though Link said it wasn’t a problem. Ingo would’ve done the same, though Link accepted the geezer’s stale attitude just the same. He knew the man had a rep to uphold. Didn’t know why though.
That night, Malon invited Link into the house, and said she’d get the room ready. Link, meanwhile, sat on the sofa and talked with Talon about the farm, among other things. Moments later, Malon came back and said the room was ready for both of them. Link, not knowing what she meant, played along and followed her he waved goodnight to Talon before heading up the stairs.
Malon opened the door. “Ta-da!” she exclaimed, gesturing to the room with excited hands.
It was like it had undergone a small makeover. The bed was larger last he remembered, the dresser and shelves were in different spots. It was like it was made for the two. “Come in!”
“Wow, Malon, this is really something.”
“Thank you hon!” she said gleefully. “Now should we hit the hay, so to say?”
Link nodded, removing his gear and setting it by the foot of the bed.
Malon noticed what Link was holding. “Is that a shield? And sword?”
Link was caught. “Guilty. I can explain the sword.”
“Do tell.” Malon said, intent on listening. Link explained how he had kept it since he was little and still adventuring. “Is that so?”
“True story.”
Malon sighed. “Just don’t hurt anybody.” She undid the scarf around her neck before setting it on the dresser. She then moved to the window, away from the bed, before removing the rest of her clothes. Link did the same, though did it closer to the bed. Once the two were undressed, Malon headed back to the bed, only to find Link down to nothing but boxers. She gave him a look, one that was hard to describe, but easily interpretable, and Link knew what she meant. Removing the boxers as well, Malon made her way over to the door. She closed it, and turned the light off as well. The room was now light by whatever moonbeams shone through the window.
Finally, they crawled into bed together, using the light of the moon as a guide. “So, we’re finally in bed. Just the two of us.” Malon had on that same face from the waterfall, which made Link a little uncomfortable.
“Yeah, looks like we finally are. I hope you’re good at this leading thing.”
It took a second for Malon to realize what he meant. “You catch on quick, fairy boy.”
“No need to rush, right?”
Malon laughed. “Right, let’s take it slow. See where it goes.”
Holo, meanwhile, who had decided to stay in the den, started to hear somewhat familiar noises, along with odd phrases from both Link and Malon. They were sure a noisy pair. Oh Din, they’re at it again. Memories of the waterfall flooded his mind, and he decided to fly out an open window. Maybe the noises of the animals would drown his thoughts out, and he could sleep. He landed on what was left of the roof of the stables, the noise of Link and Malon out of range. He sighed, lying down. I wonder how long I’ll have to put up with this... He sighed. I miss home. And Pari. I wonder how Maple’s doing...

---

“So Aislin’s fartin’ around in the Dark and Light Worlds?” Kalekos asked.
Farras sighed. “I always wonder why she forces me to call her ‘Venomess’.”
“Maybe becaussse you’re sssmall and easssy to pusssh around.”
“Gee, thanks Cobralfos! That really brightened my mood!”
“I still want to know why Majar insisted we take her in. She hasn’t done s**t all since we did.”
“I know, but if it wasn’t Majar, we wouldn’t have to put up with this.” Farras paused. “Frankly she’s better off if we left her. That way, we could treat her like any other Hylian.”
“Make her feel like the ssscum ssshe isss.”
“Personally I don’t trust her. I just have this feeling she’s not going to live up to her tasks.”
“You might be right Kalekos, but for now, she’s one of us. Loathe to say it.”

---

A cucco crowed, signalling that a new day had come. Holo slowly woke up, the sunlight almost blinding him. Standing up and stretching, he lifted off, flitting his wings.
“Is it morning already?” said a female voice.
Holo recognized it instantly, and whipped around. “MAPLE?!”
“Did I do something?” Maple asked, her maple-orange glow brightening.
“Wha- how did you-?” Holo stuttered. He couldn’t even form a full sentence, he was so shocked by her presence.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“How did you get here!?” Holo yelled.
“Alright, geez, no need to shout. I heard you had left for Hyrule from Naivi, so I decided to pay a visit.”
Holo sighed, slowly descending. “Okay, then how were you able to find me?”
“Your glow gave it away.”
Holo let out a frustrated breath. “I don’t know what to say right now.”
“Well hey, I came. Is that bad?” Maple sounded as if she was blaming herself.
“No, it’s not. I’m just helping the hero right now.”
Maple took a moment to understand what he meant. “The...hero?”
“Link, the Hero of Time.”
“Oh, that hero.” Maple walked over to Holo. “I’ve heard you go on about your fan base with a hero, who traveled through time, conquered evil, and saved a princess. I just didn’t know you were actually telling the truth.”
“What?”
“Sorry, sorry, that came out wrong!” Maple flinched. “You used to go on about him back in the village, and I thought it nothing more than a legend, or some story you cooked up one day.” Maple lowered her head, her glow dimming. “But if you say he’s real, then he must be. Right?”
Holo let his stern pose recede as he slowly walked over to her. “Hey, I’m not mad at you. I’m actually kinda glad to see you again.” He put a hand on her face, his green skin melting into the orange that was hers. She looked up and smiled. “I never expected you to believe my story, even if that’s how I came off.”
“You never changed, did you?” Maple asked. “You’re still the same, sweet, syrupy love as ever.”
Holo chuckled lightly. “I never thought you’d use that line.”
“You’ll always be my sweet fairy, silly.” She hugged him, and he couldn’t help but do the same.
“So, you want to meet him?”
“I guess.”
Holo took Maple’s hand, and the two flew over to the house. The window on the second floor was open, letting them go right to the room Link and Malon were in. Holo and Maple sat on the dresser. Holo raised a finger to his lips, indicating to be quiet. Maple nodded, giving a thumbs up. “Rise and shine, lovebirds!”
Link swatted at the air, still out of it. Eventually Malon got up and stretched. She then rustled Link, who slowly woke up, giving a loud groan and yawn. “Is it morning?” his voice was still groggy as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.
Malon looked out the window. “Yep. Time to tend to the animals. Come on Link.” Holo turned to Maple, who stifled a cry of excitement. She was about to meet the Hero of Time!
Link practically rolled out of bed, taking the covers with him. He jolted awake when he made a thud. Getting up and stretching, the blanket slipped off, and he quickly reached for his boxers, to which he hastily put on.
Malon, meanwhile, staggered over to the dresser, and through touch, opened it and blindly reached in. As she woke up slowly, she tried putting on a bra, though had a little trouble.
“Let me help.” Maple said, flying behind Malon.
“Thanks Mr. Fairy.” Malon said subliminally.
Maple stifled a laugh as she finished with the undergarment. “I’m no mister!”
This caught both Link and Malon’s attention, and Link almost toppled over scrambling to put his pants on. Link turned to see Holo on the dresser, who waved, and turned his head to the new fairy.
Malon was a little creeped out, but subsided any anger from the new fairy’s statement. At least the fairy was female.
“Holo, do you know this fairy?” Link asked.
“I’m Holo’s friend! The name’s Maple. Nice to meet you, Mr. Hero!”
Malon got rid of her sense of hostility, and returned to putting her clothes on. “You could’ve mentioned that sooner.”
“You were still half-asleep. So hi! What’s your name miss?”
“Malon. Did you say, we were still asleep?”
“Uh-huh.”
Malon moved over to the window, the bright sun hitting her face. “It’s almost midday?!” she screamed, now rushing to get her clothes on. “You could have woken us up sooner!”
Maple flew close to Holo and whispered, “What’s with her?”
“Ask him.” Holo gestured to Link, and Maple quickly flew over to him.
“What’s with her?” she repeated.
Link looked to Malon, who was frantically trying to get into a shirt. “She’s a ranch girl, whose usual day is getting up early and going to bed late, caring for all the animals in between.”
“Two of those animals are my dad and Ingo!” Malon added, now onto some underwear. She then turned back to the dresser and withdrew a pair of slacks and a long skirt.
“You do know that we’re still on our honeymoon, right?”
“That’s no excuse for ditching and leaving the work to just the two of them.” Malon said, slipping on the slacks before reaching for her boots. Once she finished with the straps, she strode out rather quickly.
Link got back to putting on his tunic, strapped the Kokiri Sword and its belt around his waist, and fought with the shield, as he tried to fit it on his back. “Guess its back to the grind..”  

[Kallori]

Chapter 8

The entire afternoon was cloudy, and seemed to constantly flip between raining and being dry. It didn’t slow anybody down though, and they just pressed on through the rest of the day. Holo and Maple were inducted into work around the ranch, though refused since they were fairies. Maple didn’t really want to work on her first day to the ranch. Thoughts of the fire that engulfed the ranch and most of the animals flashed through Link’s mind all day, and wouldn’t get out. It made working that much more difficult. He was surprised he wasn’t attacked personally, like both the forest and the burning ranch in the past few days. He didn’t count out the coming days though. Every so often, he looked at Malon as she worked away. It felt weird seeing her in a work outfit rather than her classic dress and apron. Even as a kid, she wore a dress. Oh well, if they were married, he’d have to get used to it. Along with more of these frantic workdays.
They also collapsed many of the decorations, and what they could put in boxes to sell. The rest simply laid by the house. Link almost ran into cuccos the entire time he helped tear down everything, and from experience, knew that wouldn’t end well. He tread very carefully while performing his tasks so as not to relive any of his stupid mistakes as a kid.

14 Weeks Later...

Among the carnal repartee during the night and working tirelessly during the day, Malon approached Link with a certain appeal that suggested she had something to tell him, something she was happy about. Link did his best to hide any of his nervousness.
“Guess what hon?”
“Um...what?”
Malon leaned in close, as if to whisper her next words. Instead, she shouted them. “I’m pregnant!” Link fainted after the realization he was rapidly becoming a father, while Malon jumped up and down with glee. “I’ve dreamed this day would come, and now it has! What should we name them?”
Link came to, though still out of it. He caught Malon’s last word. “’Them’?”
“It’s twins!” Link fainted for a second time. “At least, I think so. Do you think we should go see a doctor?” She looked at Link, who just lay on the floor. “Fairy boy?” She waved a hand in front of his face. No response. “Daddy!”

---

When Link woke up, he found himself in a room he had never seen before.
“Oh good, you’re coming to.” A male voice said.
Link groaned as he sat up in the bed he was apparently in. “Where am I?”
“Castle Town Hospital.” The man said. “Doctor McAllister will be here shortly to look in on your wife.”
Link bolted out of bed. “Malon!” he shouted.
The doctor raised an arm, impeding Link’s progress. “Easy now, don’t strain yourself.”
“I wouldn’t be where I am if I didn’t.” Link retorted. “Just let me see her.”
The doctor hesitated before nodding. “She’s next door.”
As Link left the room, he turned left, where the doctor had gestured, and wandered down the hall. The door wasn’t far, and he knocked on it before entering. The first thing that greeted him was Malon’s bright face, and looking around the room, spotted everyone else. Talon was beside the bed, and Ingo was watching from the corner. Holo and Maple sat on the frame of the bed. “Hey, how’s it going?”
“Better now that you’re here.” Malon replied.
“My flower tells me you fainted! I came as quick as I could to help you off the floor.
Link put a hand to his forehead. “All I remember is Malon saying she’s pregnant.”
“You’re so lucky Mr. Hero!” Maple said. “I wish I could have a family someday!” Holo, sitting right next to her, shook his head. Was he invisible?
The door opened again, and in walked a female doctor. “Alright Miss Lon, we’re ready for you.” She then gestured to everybody, who eventually took leave while the doctor did her business.
When all five of them were out in the hall, Link said, “That must be McAllister the doctor from my room said would come.”
“Is that so?” Ingo said.
Link looked to the coot. “Why do you have to be like that Ingo? This isn’t the farm where you can act like that and no one cares. Step up and show some emotion.”
Ingo didn’t respond, and simply looked at the floor. Talon put a hand on the man’s shoulder, giving a broad smile, evident by the elongated mustache. “I...suppose you’re right.” Ingo said.
“Now was that so hard?” Link asked. Getting no response, he turned to Talon. “You must be real proud, huh Talon?”
“Sure am! And it just wouldn’t be the same if you weren’t by her side!” He grabbed Link and pulled him in with one arm, giving a half hug.
“My pleasure!” Link said. Then, somewhat jokingly, added, “And apparently hers too!”
It took Talon a moment to figure out what Link meant, and laughed rather heartedly. “You got a good sense of humor! I like that, son!”
The door opened, and Dr. McAllister let them come back in. She was done with her procedures.
“So what’s the news doc?” Talon asked.
“Who’s the father?” she asked the group. Link nervously raised a hand. “Your wife is definitely pregnant, and four weeks along. You’re free to come back when they’re born.”
“They?” Link felt he was in the same position as when Malon sprung the news.
“Yes, she’s carrying twins.” Dr. McAllister answered. Link almost fainted a third time, though caught himself against the wall. Malon was the only one who let out a light laugh.

---

When they got back to the ranch, things seemed to get even harder for Link, as he was given more duties now that Malon was carrying children. He joked to Talon and Ingo not to work him to death because of it. Malon was now more indoors, usually fixing food and tidying up the house, though came out to help Link every so often. He was thankful for her assistance, though commonly told her not to overdo it. Malon just laughed and patted Link’s back.

3 Months Later...

As Malon was gradually becoming a future mother, one day when everything would survive without them, Link, Talon and Ingo went into Castle Town and told the manager of their stall that they needed a new ranch hand. He nodded, and quickly slapped a “Hiring” sign to the front of the stall. He asked what for, and they just explained they were down one due to certain circumstances. The guy also wondered about the last trainee he sent in, and an awkward silence drew over the area. He knew instantly, and laid off, assuring them that they’d get one soon enough. Talon and Ingo then told Link to do whatever he wanted, and that they were going to discuss “company secrets”. Link obliged, and decided to wander around town. Holo followed, as Maple elected to stay on the ranch and assist Malon.
“Finally, a free day!” Holo said, flying in big patterns.
“Yeah, I can’t believe it either.” Link looked around the town, wondering where to go. His gaze was drawn to an old, though important structure-the Temple of Time. He decided to pay it a visit for old times’ sake.
The nostalgia came flooding back as he made his way through the garden, passing four Gossip Stones along the way. It was a pity he didn’t have the Mask of Truth. As he made his way up the steps and through the grand doorway, he suddenly felt exhausted, and had to use the walls to stand.
“Hey, you okay Link?”
Link didn’t respond right away. “N-no, not...really...” his voice sounded serious. Holo didn’t know what to say. Link suddenly jolted, as if something had struck him, and he fell to the ground, quickly shoving his arms under so as to stop his descent.
“What’s going on...?” Holo asked, scared.
Come...come closer young one...let me...touch you...taste you...consume you...
“Get out of my head!” Link yelled, his voice echoing through the building.
“Voices? It’s mind voices?” Holo was getting more frightened by the second.
You will not survive...we will eventually win...coming here...was...a MISTAKE!
“Just...who are you?” Link asked the voice.
It was a moment, but only a moment, before the next thing happened. A robed figure appeared in front of the pedestal, just a few feet from the Door of Time. “So you are who they speak about. So young, so naive.”
“You!” Link yelled. “You’re the voice! The voice in my head!” he took a battle stance.
“My, you catch on quick. No matter.” Link then went to draw his sword. “That won’t help you. Such a stubby little thing. Merely a child’s toy in comparison to those of knights around your age.”
“Don’t ever call my sword stubby!” He then whipped the blade at the figure, who caught it with one hand, revealing one similar to one he saw before. “Are you with that Lizalfos from the forest?”
“Oh, Kalekos failed, did she? No surprise.” The figure then raised its head, showing another Lizalfos, though green in color. “You may call me Lizzrobe. Or your doom, you pick.” Lizzrobe then examined the sword. “My, amazing craftsmanship. And in impeccable condition. You really know how to take care of a blade.” Though that was a comment, Lizzrobe then snapped it in half, and tossed the hilt back. It bounced along the floor, eventually hitting Link’s foot.
“You filthy snake!” Holo flew up to Lizzrobe. However, Lizzrobe opened his mouth, and quickly shot his tongue out, ensnaring the fairy. Lizzrobe then swallowed the fairy, who cried out for Link, but Link used the opportunity to punch Lizzrobe in the gut. The Lizalfos spit the fairy out, along with a wheeze, and Holo landed on the floor, covered in saliva. “Gross...”
“Hm, so you have spirit. And a lot of might.” It was as if Lizzrobe was taunting the boy. “But do you have enough knowledge?” Lizzrobe then faded out of sight. Link and Holo stood in the center of the room, waiting.
“What do you think he’s capable of?” Link asked Holo.
“Honestly,” the fairy started, “aside from mind games, amazing speed, and disappearing? Not much.”
Lizzrobe then appeared on the chandelier, and fired small energized blasts at Link. He dodged for his life, as each blow exploded into something similar to fireworks.
“These guys just don’t quit.” Link uttered.
Lizzrobe then appeared in front of the boy. “I heard that.” And took a swing. Link ducked, and planted his hands on the floor before kicking both feet into the lizard’s stomach, sending him into the wall. Lizzrobe then disappeared again before reappearing behind Link and blasting him. It was Link’s turn to hit the wall, and somehow managed to hit the same spot Lizzrobe had crashed into. “So simple too.”
Link gritted his teeth, and kicked off from the wall. To his dismay, Lizzrobe picked him off with another blast, and the boy hit the wall along with the floor.
Lizzrobe walked over and grabbed Link’s neck, hoisting him in the air. “I have my orders to take you alive, so be a good human child and obey.” Link spit in his face. Lizzrobe wiped off the saliva. “Very well.” After saying that, Lizzrobe tossed Link in the air, who landed on the chandelier. Fortunately it was stable enough to hold him. Lizzrobe popped into view on another portion of the chandelier, and raised his hands, ready to face Link head on.
“Don’t do it Link, you could fall off and die!” Holo’s words seemed to bring a smile to the Lizalfos’ face.
Hesitantly, Link also raised his hands. A duel would soon break out. Holo, meanwhile, flied around frantically at the oncoming battle.
Both sides lashed out at each other, bobbing and weaving as they dodged and delivered blows. They even jumped around the chandelier, trying to gain the upper hand over the other. It wasn’t until Lizzrobe lashed his forked tongue out that things got interesting. Link swiftly grabbed it with his right hand, trying to remain stable, and yanked on it, forcing the Lizalfos to come closer. Link then punched him square in the face, leaving an indent of knuckles between the nostrils. He still kept a firm grip on the tongue, and yanked again, this time downwards, knowing Lizzrobe might try and counter if he simply pulled straight again. Link’s boot then met the Lizalfos’ skull, and through a daring maneuver, threw Lizzrobe towards the roof before jumping to another part of the chandelier. He looked up, and as Lizzrobe came down, firmly planted both hands on one of the rods and kicked off, spinning around and kicking Lizzrobe in the stomach again.
Lizzrobe crashed into the pedestal, defeated. Link carefully dropped to the floor and walked up to the lizard.
“Heh...hah...hah...Well...you certainly have power and courage...but...” Lizzrobe paused, trying to catch his breath. “Do you have wisdom enough to really beat me?” and with that, Lizzrobe vanished.
Link waited a while, surveying his surroundings.
“I think he’s gone for good.” Holo stated.
“For now.” Link then looked at the Door of Time before turning around.
“Hey, wait, you need a sword right? Why not-“
“The Master Sword is imprisoning Ganon right now. If I withdrew it from the pedestal, I’d wake him up, and he’s the last person I need to worry about.”
“So...”
“I’ll get a sword in town.”

---

Malon finished dusting the house, though with the children fast approaching, it was getting more strenuous to do ordinary activities. Many of the things she was able to do, she left in the hands of Maple the fairy, who never objected. Fortunately for the fairy, Malon didn’t put her to anything she wasn’t capable of, mainly dusting and picking up stray objects. The fairy even helped out with washing dishes, and the two developed a quick friendship.
As Malon sat in the armchair next to the bookshelf on the far wall, she let out a groan. Maple sat on her belly.
“Wow. It’s so amazing you’re going to be a mother!”
“Yeah, it’s a blessing.” Malon caressed her stomach, and felt a kick. “Oh, seems like they’re almost here!”
Maple laughed. “It’s like a drum!” And the fairy began to dance, which brought a smile to Malon’s face.
“Holo, was it? Was that the name of the green fairy with Link?”
“Yup. We’re best friends!”
“It must be nice for him to have such a good friend as you.”
Maple stopped her dancing for a moment. “Thanks Miss Lon!”
“Please, you can call me Malon.”
Maple squealed a little before dancing on Malon’s stomach again. “How much longer do you think it’ll be?”
“Well with babies you never know until it happens.”
“You mean they just pop out?”
Malon laughed. “No, not quite like that. Something happens inside to let you know it’s time.”
The fairy leaned down to observe. “What happens?”
“Well, when you have children of your own, you’ll know.”

---

“Well, I tried. Cobralfos tried. And now you!”
“Cccertainly different when you’re in our posssition.”
Lizzrobe looked at his two comrades, the entire front of his face bandaged up. Kalekos and Cobralfos began laughing hysterically. “Shut up.”
“What, no more riddles?” Kalekos said in between breathing. “Oh, my, that’s...” she then continued laughing. Cobralfos was on the floor, pounding it with a fist as he laughed. Lizzrobe grumbled.
“Alright, shut up you three!” Farras said as he flew in. “Enough. Enough I say!” Kalekos and Cobralfos eventually regained composure. “You’ve all tried and failed. Get over it.”
“And what? Rely on that filthy Hylian?” Kalekos asked the bat.
“Sadly, yes. Aside from Majar, she is our only hope of capturing the hero.”
“Ssshe better not fail too. I for one don’t want to be taken like a fool.”
“Amen.” Lizzrobe said. “Any worse than we already are.”
“Shut it!” Kalekos snapped, raising a fist to mere inches from his face.
Farras sighed. “Alright, Kalekos, send one of your men to spy on Aislin, make sure she’s doing her job.”
“On it.”
“Let’sss jussst hope it worksss.”
“Indeed.” Lizzrobe commented.  

[Kallori]

Chapter 9

Link dusted off his sleeves as he walked though the garden back to Castle Town.
“Geez, how much more of them do you think there are?” Holo asked.
“I don’t know.” Link then stopped as he saw a young girl around his age standing in the middle of the road. “Um, hello?”
“Hi.” She replied kindly. “You look beat up. Did you fight something?”
“Uh, yeah. What gave it away?”
“Nothing, but I can just tell.” The girl swayed back and forth. Something about her irked Link, and he was growing more tired of the conversation by the second. “You must be weary. I know someplace that can patch you up quick.” She then proceeded to take his hand.
Link wasn’t buying it. “The hospital is right over there.”
The girl then grabbed his now free-to-take hand. “But I know something better than any old hospital. Come on!” She then ran through the streets with the boy, to a run-down building. Link questioned her motives, and she simply said to get in. It was just inside. Link, suspicious, followed her mistrustful advice and stepped in. Once the girl entered, she told Link to move the bed, as it was too heavy. Again, Link followed orders under suspicion, and uncovered a portal.
“Um, where does that go?”
“To my special place!” The girl said, her pale hair bouncing as she thrust her arms in the air. The two then entered, Link first, and it felt like they were being tossed around. Eventually, things settled down, and as Link stepped out, he took in his surroundings with awe. “Where are we?” Suddenly a blunt object crashed into the back of his head, and he passed out.
The girl, now in armor, smirked. “This is the pest? I thought he’d put up more of a fight.”

---

“How in Hyrule did you do it?” Kalekos asked. “I got my a** handed to me by that twerp, along with Lizzrobe, and both of us are far better at fighting than you.”
“I just had to lure him here.” Aislin said. “It was a piece of cake!”
“Maybe there’s use for you after all.” Farras said, impressed. “I’ll go tell Majar the good news.”
Kalekos ordered one of her minions to guard the room where the prisoner was being held, and the Lizalfos-this one blue with a sword and shield-obeyed, wandering down the halls.

The Lizalfos eventually reached the room. There was nothing but a sword hanging above the door, and even if he tried, the prisoner couldn’t reach it without some kind of footstool. The lizard walked up to the prisoner, Link, and grinned. He was bound by chains that hung from the wall. “Such a pest to us. It’s about time you were silenced.” Link was still unconscious, so it was like talking to the walls. The Lizalfos sheathed his sword, and moved it close to Link. “It’s both a shame and a pleasure that you have to remain here until our master wakes.”
Suddenly Link’s foot shot upward, knocking the sword out of the Lizalfos’ hand, before kicking the beast back. Swiftly, his hands slipped through the chains and he caught the sword on its way down. “Sorry, but, I slipped those chains long ago.”
The Lizalfos grumbled. “Impudent brat!” It then kicked the wall, and the sword hanging there came loose. It grabbed the weapon, but in doing so, gave Link an opportunity to attack, and swiftly cut the shield in half before punching the lizard into the wall. The fighting area was severely limited, as they moved from the room to the hall in doing so. Link spotted an open window a little ways from his location. He’d try and push the Lizalfos over there. Another battle ensued, and the beast took a swing at Link, who back flipped onto the wall before lunging. The lizard dodged, and gave a swift slice at Link, who was now vulnerable.
“Agh!” he cried, grasping the wound firmly. It wasn’t anything overly critical, but it would certainly impede his skill. He kicked the lizard again before leaping in the air. The Lizalfos dodged, rolling to its feet as Link came down, and took another swipe. This one went over Link’s head. “You missed.” He then swept a leg across the floor, tripping the Lizalfos, who fell with a thud before stabbing it in the arm.
It was the lizard’s turn to cry out in pain. It got up and rushed Link, who did another back flip, eventually winding up near the window. He was now able to put his plan into action. As the Lizalfos lunged again, Link spun around, catching the beast by the neck and thrusting it over the side. However, the Lizalfos quickly turned the tables, shoving Link over the edge. “Any last words?”
“Yeah. How high are we?” The Lizalfos was confused by the question, giving Link the opening to turn the tables in his favor, and not only shoved his opponent out, but off the side as well. The Lizalfos clung to the sill that stretched around the entire castle. Thunder rumbled in the distance, and Link was able to see that the sky was extremely dreary. He worried about that later, as the Lizalfos stabbed, though missed. The two then performed a rather pathetic-looking duel, given that they were of different heights. The Lizalfos started to slip, and had to plant its sword hand on the sill to keep from falling. Link stabbed the foe’s left hand, and it cried out in pain, though never let go. Link dug the blade deeper, and the Lizalfos eventually slipped, its sword hand unable to grip, and it ultimately fell to its doom, down, down, down the side of the mountain. Link then looked over his left shoulder. It would be tough navigating this place, but he needed to get back. He needed to find a portal.

Kalekos ran down the halls, and stopped at the room where Majar was. “Majar, he’s escaping!”
Majar snapped the book shut. “What?! After him!” Kalekos tore off down the hall, shouting for her troops to search the castle. Majar then returned to reading from the book. Not now, you will not escape!

As Link turned down a hall, he saw a horde of multicolored Lizalfos stampede his way. Not wanting to get run over, he backed out, and tried the other path. Same thing. Instead of fleeing, he waited for them all to converge. Once they did, he leapt onto the wall and bounced across their heads. Some flailed their weapons, hitting their comrades. Others tried climbing onto their allies and bouncing across, chasing Link. Those who were dumb enough to try and stop him beforehand were cut down by the sword from the blue Lizalfos. Eventually, he passed the horde and sprinted down the halls. He turned a corner, and found a horde waiting for him. When he retreated, they gave chase, only to enclose him with the first mob. Sweating, Link was running out of options. Then a window caught his eye. When the mobs were a few feet, he jumped out and onto the sill. “I hear you guys need me for your master!” the mob was tense, some readying their weapons. “This must mean you need me alive.”
“Come on! Don’t be an idiot!” one of them called. They charged, and Link stepped further out, making them stop. He latched onto the window from the outside with a death grip. Suddenly a bright light shone on Link, and as he turned around to see it, a Bubble came into view. It let out a grunt. “It’s game over kid! Now get back in here!” Link gave a smirk, and jumped lightly off the sill. The Lizalfos horde charged to the window, the few looking out to see where he went. The Bubble lowered, as if tracking its target. “He’s headed for the second floor!” The Lizalfos mob then rushed down the halls, ready to meet Link when he got back in.
Link managed to slide down and slip into a lower window. A whole new set of halls greeted him. He’d have to hurry and find a portal somewhere in here before the mob came back. He lost the Bubble, and it flew away, going back to patrol another part of the castle. Sighing, he rushed down the hall on the left, as it was unoccupied by enemy forces. Though he had absolutely no idea where he was going, he tried to figure out a path on the fly. As he rushed down the corridors, he could hear the faint yells from the mob. He picked up the pace, until he ran into something. But there was nothing there. He felt something though. There were no windows, though there was candlelight, and looking onto the wall, saw a shadow. There was still hope. Using his own shadow as a guide, he pushed whatever was blocking his path. It revealed a portal, and he put out the candle before stepping into it. Yet again he felt sick as he went through it.

Link found himself in the castle, Hyrule Castle, to be precise. Guards were on him immediately, but he ignored them and shoved the statue back over the portal. It looked like a statue of...himself, actually, and he slumped against it, exhausted.
The guards halted their charge. “It’s him!” one shouted.
“Where...am I?” he asked.
“You are in Hyrule Castle sir.”
“Thanks.” He patted the statue. “Hey, make sure this doesn’t move.”
“Yes sir.”

---

Link found himself in a room in the castle. He had no idea how he got there, but looking around, realized he was in a recovery room. A nursemaid was by the bed, along with a few familiar faces. Their sight brought a smile to his face. “Hi everyone.”
“Hey son.” Talon replied in kind. “A guard informed us of your sudden appearance, and we came as fast as we could.”
“How long was I out?”
“Almost a whole day.” Ingo said, a touch of concern in his voice.
A guard entered the room. “Mr. Link, Queen Zelda is on her way.”
Queen? Link sat up, rubbing his forehead. “Last I knew, she was still princess.”
“Apparently she climbed up in the ranks.” Holo flitted down to Link. “We were worried when you disappeared!”
“He did not simply disappear.” A familiar voice said. Link’s face brightened as everyone bowed. He simply lowered his head. Zelda walked over to him and gave a light hug. It seemed she hadn’t forgotten their time as kids. “You had gone to the Dark World, where evil roams free. Do you remember how you got there?”
Link scratched his head. “I remember someone leading me to an old house, and there was some kind of portal on the floor. We both entered, and then...nothing.”
“Nothing?”
“Wait, someone had hit me.” Link waved a finger, trying to scrape any more details from his mind. “It was blunt and powerful, probably some kind of club or mace.”
“Anything else?”
“This person had pale hair, that’s about all that stood out. A girl with pale hair, probably pink in color or close to it.
Zelda nodded, then turned to the guard. “Kraig, look for someone who fits that description.”
“Before you go, this person, this girl...she appears like any normal person in the Light World.” Link added. “So she might not have any weapons.”
The guard nodded before leaving. Zelda thanked Link before departing as well. Before she left, though, she said, “It was nice to see you again Link.” Link blushed.

Later that day, they returned to the ranch. Malon was glad to see everybody, though worried when she noticed Link was beaten up. She wondered what happened, and Link explained the whole story. Malon hugged him, glad he was safe. He asked how the kids were doing, and Malon said they were doing fine. Maple and Holo did a little dance, as they were glad to see each other again. It seemed peace was returning, yet at the same time, Link was being haunted by the forces of darkness. He figured that much out from his time in the Dark World. He just wondered how much more torment he had to go through.

A Month or so Later...

“We’re almost there! Hold on Malon!” Link shouted from the steed. He was sweating nervously, afraid they might be late.
“Just hurry!” Malon called from the carriage. Talon sat in the carriage as well, watching over his daughter. Ingo was up front with Link to prod the horses on. Moments before, Malon said her water broke, and although Link had no idea what that meant at all, they rushed for Castle Town. Now that the hospital was a few feet away, Ingo pulled on the reigns, and the horses stopped. Hurriedly, they carried Malon in.
Talon dashed up to the front desk. “My daughter’s water broke!” Fortunately the attendant was female, and promptly nodded, leading the crew to one of the rooms. Link was carrying Malon and did his best to hurry while not being too forceful on Malon. Every so often she let out a painful groan, and ushered Link to hurry, as if he wasn’t already doing so.
The attendant spoke with one of the doctors, Dr. McAllister if Link remembered correctly, who gestured to a nearby bed. She pulled the curtains, closing them off from the rest of the hospital. She told the others, except Link, to wait outside. Holo and Maple flew around Ingo and Talon, nervous. The two men were nervous as well.
“Alright Miss Lon, now I need you to follow what I have to say.” Malon nodded. “Mr...Link, hold her hand.” As Link did so, McAllister poked her head out of the curtain and whistled for another doctor. He promptly came over. “Dr. Moran is here to help, now, just breathe, alright?” she turned to Link. “Keep telling her to breathe and push.”
Link nodded. “K Malon, we need your help, breathe.”
“Good, good, and now push.” Malon strained, her face turning red. “Okay, and again when you’re ready.”
“Breathe Malon, you can do this!” Link told her. Malon gave a death grip on his hand, and he winced from the pain.
This process kept up for quite some time. Talon, Ingo, Holo, and Maple heard them say to breathe and push, and Malon yelling in pain.
“I hope she’s alright...” Maple said.
“Me too.” Holo sat on Talon’s shoulder. Everyone seemed worried by this point.
More calls to push, breathe, and painful yells, until finally something was heard, a voice crying. A minor celebratory moment erupted from the four, but died when Malon screamed again.
“It’s there, I can see it!” Dr. Moran said.
“She’s got two?” Holo asked.
Another minor celebration occurred a few moments later, and McAllister poked her head out. “You can come in now.”
As the four came into the small space, the first things to greet their eyes were two babies, squirming and muttering. They were wrapped in towels. Malon was exhausted, and Link sat on the edge of the bed.
“They’re twin boys.” Dr. Moran said.
“Congrats Daddy, you’re a grandfather.”
Talon was dumbstruck before fainting. Link and Malon burst out laughing as Ingo helped Talon to his feet.
“That’s exactly how I reacted!” Link said.
“So what are you going to name them?” Maple asked, floating over and landing on Malon’s head.
Malon turned to Link, who shrugged. “I name one, you name the other?”
“That sounds fair.” She turned to the one wrapped in the blue blanket, which was the first to come out. “Hm...how about Rioan? It was my grandfather’s name.” Talon started to tear up. He hadn’t heard that name in a long time.
Link nodded. “Sounds great.” He looked long and hard at the one in the red.
“Why don’t you hold him?” Malon offered. “Maybe you can figure a name out then.
Link carefully took the baby boy. It felt...magical to hold a son. He gave a kind smile, and tickled the baby, who let out a light laugh. “Martel. How’s that?”
“Perfect.” Malon looked down at Rioan and sighed. “They’re going to be such wonderful children.”
“Yeah.”

---

“This is just embarrassing.”
“I agree. That runt cccertainly pussshed hisss luck.”
“My forces were supposed to hold that Wolfos pup!” Kalekos then whipped around to an orange Lizalfos. “What happened down there!?”
“I’m not sure, but we haven’t seen the top knight since his escape.” It replied. “He’s most likely dead.”
Kalekos grumbled, and the troop backed away. It knew she would lash out at it if it let her. “That rotten hero is foiling us at every turn! I will not stand for it!”
“Where’sss Aissslin?” Cobralfos asked, looking around.
“Beat’s the Dark World out of me.”
Farras flew up to the trio. “Aislin was given a stern talking to by myself in Majar’s stead. She’s offered one last chance, and if she fails...” Farras then made a slashing motion across his throat.
“Good. I never liked her anyway.”  

[Kallori]

Chapter 10

As the years went by, and the boys grew, the house and ranch underwent many changes. Back on top with not one, but two new ranch hands, Nalia and Roth, things were looking up for the family. The house expanded immensely to accommodate the boys and the new workers, and gave a complete makeover to the stables. The door now lay on the south side, facing the rest of the ranch, along with two larger doors in which to herd the cattle. They only had a couple of goats and one pig, but it was a start. On their fourth birthday, Link surprised the boys with a puppy. Immediately, Martel and Rioan went off to play with it.
“They’ve got your spirit of energy.” Malon told Link.
“Seems they do.” Link looked to the field, as they were standing just outside the house. Ingo was barking orders to both Nalia and Roth. It seemed they had also given the coot a harder time with their windfall. “There he goes again.”
“Yup.” Malon then shouted, “Hey Ingo! They’re family now, just like you! So take it easy!” Malon heard Talon shout something off in the distance.
“Sounds like you woke your dad up while you were at it.” Link gave a smirk.
“Not bad for a farm girl.”
Nalia came up to them, her brown ponytail bouncing behind her. She was dressed in a blue tee, brown work gloves, green overalls, and brown boots. She rubbed the sweat off her face. “Boy, that Ingo sure knows how to give orders.”
“He certainly does.” Malon exclaimed. “He’s been here since I was seven.”
Nalia’s eyes widened. “Really? Has he ever barked at you like that?”
“Not as much, but then again, I was only a kid, so I know how to help on a ranch.”
“Hey, I noticed you don’t hold your hair back when you’re working. Doesn’t it fall in your face?”
“Not really.”
“Can you teach me your secrets?” the two girls laughed. Nalia then flinched as she heard Ingo yell at her. She turned to Link. “Hey, I noticed your fairy buddies haven’t been around and about.” She then looked back, and yelled at Ingo. “Alright already! I’ll get the damn hay!”
“That reminds me,” Link said, looking at Malon, “I don’t remember seeing them since this morning.”
“They’re probably inside or hiding somewhere.” Malon then moved out into the field. “We should probably get back to work too.”
With the addition of Nalia and Roth, Link and Malon found new ways of taking care of the animals. They even had horse races, both for fun and as a way to keep the horses in shape. When it came to cattle, they tried to see who could milk more. They also invented something called Cucco Ball, and would toss cuccos at each other. Sometimes the cuccos laid eggs, so it wasn’t pure fun and games, though they had a blast playing it. Gathering hay and feeding the animals went faster as well, so they had more time to goof off once they were done everything. This usually resulted in extra games of Cucco Ball. Even Martel and Rioan tried to play with them, though more often than not, ended up getting pecked or pooped on. The boys were also the ones to try and catch the eggs, each holding a basket to catch them in. It was hit-and-miss, as not all eggs landed safely.
Feeding the cuccos gave the boys the opportunity to run around. Although they would alternate each time, one stood on the shoulders of the other, and shake the bag of feed while the other brother ran around in odd patterns. They had an incredible sense of balance, rarely toppling over.
As for Holo and Maple, they kept indoors to help dust and pick up after the boys when they made a mess, which was frequent, to say the least. When they came outside, they would play with the boys, or tell them stories, loosely based off of Link’s life. They also kept score on who won during the horse racing or milk contests. In mere months, they all managed to liven up the ranch. A businessman from Castle Town came one day and seeing all the fun they were having, wanted to host a tour. Talon and Ingo agreed, and it was the fairies who were the guides whenever a new group came through. Sales skyrocketed from that point, which helped Talon and Malon buy more livestock. Link hadn’t seen the ranch this happy and bustling with energy ever before. In no time at all, the ranch became somewhat of an empire, and they even had to expand territory across Hyrule Field.

8 Months Later...

Malon was in labor again, and Link picked up the term from Dr. McAllister when the boys were born. Now that a third child was on the way, they were in a rush.
“Come on Malon! We can get you to the hospital!”
Malon looked at Link with a stern yet painful expression. “I don’t think I’ll have enough time!”
Link was panicking, “Ok, um, what should we do?” They were in the stables, and Link looked to Talon. “Lay out some bales or something! Something we can lay her on!”
Talon hustled with Link’s order, and Link carefully picked Malon up. “Thanks.” She said.
Link gave a smile and set her down on the makeshift bed. Ingo was fretting, and the boys watched from the shadow of the door. They didn’t know what was going on. Link tried to remember just how the doctors did it. Snapping his fingers, he told Malon to breathe and push. Meanwhile, he crouched, ready to catch the newborn. Talon held his daughter’s hand this time. Holo and Maple flew frantically above.
Nalia and Roth came in, wondering why the boys were here, and Ingo told them to take them elsewhere. They ushered the boys over to the house, and asked what they could do to help. Link told Roth to get a towel, and Nalia to help with the baby.
“It’s coming!” Nalia said.
“Come on Malon, you’re almost there!” Malon cried out in pain.
“Remember to breathe!” Talon said, and Malon put a death grip on his hand. “Ngh!”
“I am!” Malon said through clenched teeth.
A few moments later, the baby came out, crying and bloody. Everybody celebrated, and Roth arrived just in time with a towel.
“It’s a girl!” Nalia exclaimed.
Link looked at her. “How can you tell?”
Nalia just stared at Link. What do you mean?” Link shook his head, and said to forget it.
“Alright, now it’s time to cut the cord.” Talon said.
“The what?” As Link looked down, he saw something attached to the baby that was indeed cord-like, which lead straight to Malon. “Oh...” Link dug out his sword, which freaked Malon out.
“You’re not serious!?” she shouted at him.
“We gotta cut it somehow! Help me Talon, you got a look at it.”
Talon glanced over, seeing where the tip of the sword was hovering over. “It was more toward the baby.” As Link slowly and carefully moved the blade, Talon said “There!” when Link was an inch or two from the squirming baby. “You gotta wait a while though.”
“What?” Link asked, raising his sword.
“They waited a few minutes before cutting it.” Talon paused. “The doctors, that is.”
“Fine, let me know when I can cut it.” Blood was dripping onto his hand as he waited. “Where’s that towel?” Roth knelt down and helped cover the baby.
After a few minutes passed, Link proceeded with cutting it, and it fell off, lying on the ground. “What’d they do with the rest of it?”
“Just leave it.” Malon said, laying her head on the hay. “The doctors mentioned it would come off in a few days.” She lifted her arms, wanting to hold her daughter, and Link passed the baby along.
“Any ideas on a name?”
Malon looked at the baby. “I don’t know, give me a minute.”
“How about Hayley?” Roth offered. Everyone turned to look at him. “Just a suggestion... I got the ‘hay’ bit ‘cause Malon’s sitting on hay...”
Malon looked at the baby girl. “That’s interesting Roth.” The baby then opened its eyes, as if calling to its mother. “Haydel. That will be her name.”
Link stood up. “So, we’re done here?” Malon nodded. Link glanced down to the cord, still on the ground. Nalia walked over and gave Malon a light hug before she left. Roth just waved, said “Take care.” And took his leave as well. Ingo went to find the boys, though didn’t have to look far, and Talon was ready to get back to work. Link walked over to Malon. “So, three kids. This is going to be chaotic.”
“Certainly will be.”

---

After a few days had passed, and Malon was looking after Haydel with the help of Nalia whenever she could and Maple, Link confronted the boys and told them to be nice to their new sister.
“Do we have to?” Martel complained.
“Why couldn’t we have another brother?” Rioan added, slumping.
“Now now, we don’t really get a choice when it happens, it just does.”
Martel looked up. “Daddy, how come you have a sword?” Link was taken aback by the question. “And why were you using it on Mommy?”
Link coughed. “Well, it was only necessary to bring it out there since we had nothing else to use.” He scratched his head, figuring out what to say next. “As for general use, I have it for protection.”
“Why?”
Link rustled a hand through Martel’s hair. “You’ll find out for yourself one day.”
“Can we use it?” Rioan asked, putting on his most innocent face.
Link put a hand on his shoulder and sternly said, “No. However, I can teach you what I know if you’d like.”
“Yeah!” The boys said, jumping and throwing their arms in the air.
Link nodded, then looked out over the field. “ROTH!”
Roth perked up, and quickly glanced around for Ingo before rushing over towards Link. His short hair was colored differently, as the roots were black, but it slowly faded to white at the tips. It was also messy and spiky, as if he never combed it. He wore a pale brown tee and red overalls, along with brown gloves and boots. “What is it?”
“My boys here would like to get some sword training, and I was wondering if you’d help me demonstrate.”
“Oh, sure thing.” Roth then looked at Martel and Rioan. “What are we going to use though?”
“Pitchforks for us. As for the boys, maybe some sticks? Why don’t you go see if you can find some.”
“Got it!” and with that, Roth headed for the stables. He emerged a moment later with two pitchforks, dumping them on the ground. He pulled two sticks he found in there from his back pocket and handed one to each of the boys.
Link picked up a pitchfork, and examined it. “Is there a way to remove the heads?”
“I don’t know.” Roth then lowered his, though snapped the head off across his knee. He then hucked it back at the stables. Link raised an eyebrow, interested by the boy’s resourcefulness, and did the same to his, tossing the head away.
“Alright boys, now we’re ready to begin training. Martel, you stand beside me, and Rioan, go stand by Roth.” As the boys took their positions, Link raised his pole, and Roth did the same. The boys copied their actions. “This first technique is the slice, and can go in many directions. Let’s sweep downwards.” Link then raised his pole over his head and brought it down. Roth instinctively guarded by flipping his pole vertical. The poles collided, but didn’t break. “Now you come at me Roth.” Nodding, the boy raised his pole over his head and Link guarded this time. Roth came down rather fast, and Link had to stop him by thrusting his arms upward. The poles crashed again. “Good, good, now you try kids.”
Martel was the first to attack, and let out a “Hiya!” as he brought his stick down. Unfortunately, when Rioan tried to guard, both sticks broke. The boys just looked at their now broken weapons.
“Well that was dumb.” Rioan grumbled, tossing his two pieces to the ground. “Isn’t there something stronger we can use Daddy?”
Link’s train of thought came crashing to a halt as Ingo yelled “What happened to the pitchforks?!” Whipping around, he spotted Link and Roth with the poles, and his face slowly started to turn beet red as he stormed over.
“Wait Ingo, we were just using them to teach the boys how to fight with a sword.
“And what in Hyrule would give them the idea the need to wield a dangerous weapon?” he shouted.
“Actually, they asked.” Ingo seemed to calm down a bit and looked at the twins, before storming off elsewhere. When he was out of range, Martel and Rioan seemed to mock his behavior, saying random things and laughing all the while.
“Looks like he’s getting more gray hairs by the minute.” Roth said. “So now what are the boys going to use?”
Link put a hand on his chin, searching for answers.

---

“Thanks for your help Nalia.”
“It’s nothing Malon. Besides, now that you’re looking after Haydel, it’s the least I could do.” Nalia was covered in dust, but she didn’t mind. She rubbed her face with an arm, removing the dust from her eyes. She looked like a raccoon. “Are the fairies still around?”
“They should be. I just haven’t seen them lately.”
“Maybe they’re waiting for another tour.” Nalia then stepped outside and patted her hands, the dust flying off and forming a light cloud. She coughed, brushing the dust off her arms, shirt and pants. The cloud got even thicker, and she had to take a few steps away from it to continue. When she got back inside, she asked, “Wasn’t there supposed to be a light breeze?”
“Well, you can’t always trust Canamla. Her predictions aren’t always accurate.” Malon was talking about the fortune teller in Castle Town, who not only predicts the future, but the weather too.
“Hey, doesn’t Link have the Ocarina of Time? I swear I saw him playing it one day.” Nalia looked over her shoulder and out the window. “Doesn’t it have weird powers to make it stormy?”
“Storms, yes. Wind, no.” Malon paused. “At least, that’s what he told me.”
“Well, we’ll be set if drought ever comes.” Nalia remarked, chuckling lightly.
As Nalia went back to tidying up around the house, and stirring up more dust to be covered in, Maple and Holo flew in through an open window. “Guess what?”
“What is it Maple?”
Maple looked to Holo, who said “We just talked with the man who came here to offer the tour thing, Mr. Toul. Anyway, we worked out a schedule, and he’s agreed to not send groups over during the holidays, or any nightly tours unless specified by a representative of the ranch.”
“Well that’s good.”
“It gets better, he’s even asked us to pass on a message to a representative, like yourself.” Holo cleared his throat. “He’s offering an interactive portion to the tour where the groups get to help feed the animals, tend to them, and play the sports you guys invented, like Cucco Ball. It’s sure to take a bit of a load off.”
“That does sound helpful.”
“Not just that,” Maple added, “but if anyone’s willing to help out, even if it’s just shift work, they’re free to sign up at the storefront you guys have set up in Castle Town! They’re going to send uniform shipments over the next few weeks, and Mr. Toul is even offering to send someone personally to launder the clothes for the next person!”
“Wow! Wait until Link hears this!”
“I can’t believe it either!” Nalia said, sweeping the floor with a corn broom. “Looks like you’re business finally became a franchise!”
“Toul said it’ll increase sales, boost morale, and give a taste of the ranch life to all participants.” Holo coughed. “Though he said you’ll be paying them hourly.” He said it rather fast and quiet, it was hard to hear.
“Wait, what?” Malon said, confused.
“Toul said, and I quote ‘That’s business, not personal’.”
“Holo, how much are they paying the employees?” Nalia asked, resting the broom against the wall.
“Toul said it would start at eight rupees an hour.”
“That’s not bad. What do you think Malon?”
Malon didn’t really know what to say, other than, “I’m going to talk to Link about this.”
“Wait up!” Maple said, and the two fairies followed.

“Eight rupees?” Link laughed. “That’s chicken feed! Nothing to worry about!”
“How much did your shield cost?”
“Eighty, why?” Link asked. “Course it got stolen when I went to the Dark World. But that’s nothing, a bottle of milk is what, ten rupees? You’re earning more than spending for these workers!” Link paused. “Besides, how long are they going to work a day, five hours? Six?”
“But still,-“ Malon started, but Link raised a finger to her lips.
“Like I said, nothing to worry about. So we get a few new hands around here, what’s the worst that could happen?”
“A fire.”
Link took a blow from that. “Okay, that was one time, but Malon, I doubt these kids are going to purposely start one.”
Malon sighed. “I guess you’re right.” She looked him in the eye. “You sure know your stuff.”
“Hey, I used to adventure, you learn things.” He then looked around. “Where did those two take off to now?”
“Hm?”
“The twins. We were practicing sword fighting earlier, and now they just up and vanished!”
Malon would speak with Link about part of that sentence later. For now, finding the kids was their priority. It didn’t take long, as the boys were heard screaming. Locating them, they found them to be running, but running from what? That answer came with a small flock of cuccos. Their dog, a sheepdog was barking at the cuccos as it tried to stop the flock. “What the...”
“Boys, this way!” Link called. They came running over, the dog still yapping away. “Get inside!” As the boys hurriedly opened the door and slammed it behind them, the flock stopped just outside, though still clucking and flapping their wings. Link grabbed the dog’s collar. “Whoa Shanks, down boy!” The dog didn’t stop barking though, and the cuccos never came after it.
Nalia looked up as the boys entered the house. “What’s got you two in a hurry?”
“The cuccos are evil!” Martel cried, on the verge of tears. Both boys were laden with peck indents and scars, some minor, others slightly bleeding. “They wouldn’t go away!”
“And now Shanks keeps barking at them because of it...” Rioan added. He wasn’t as frightened as Martel, but close to it.
Nalia looked out the window to see feathers flying, and Link trying to hold back the dog. “Just what did you do anyway?”
“Martel accidentally tripped over one and this happened!” Rioan pounded a fist against the door. “Back off you stupid birds!”
Ingo and Talon rushed over to see what was causing the commotion. “What’s going on here?”
“I don’t know, the boys were running from a flock of cuccos with the dog,” he yanked on the collar, “barking at them like this.”
“What could’ve gotten the cuccos to go crazy though?” Ingo asked. He’d never seen this kind of activity before.
“Well...when I used to adventure, I thought it might be fun...to hit one, see what it did. DOWN BOY!” Link paused. “Anyway, I ended up angering it and a flock was on me in moments.”
“How’d you survive?” Malon asked.
“By going indoors. That’s why I told them to get inside.” Everyone looked to the house, and saw Martel’s face in the window. He stuck his tongue out. “Eventually they went away, though I never had a dog barking at them I SAID DOWN!” This time he yanked hard on the collar, almost strangling the dog. It still barked at them, and Link sighed.
“How long did it usually take until it was safe again?” Malon asked.
“A few minutes.” And true to Link’s word, the cuccos eventually flew away. Shanks still barked at them, though not as much as each bird left the scene. When all was calm, Link opened the door. “Don’t you boys ever do that again.” He left it open for them to come out. “It’s life-threatening.”
“Sorry Daddy!” Martel was bawling, as he clung to Link’s leg.
“We didn’t mean to!” Rioan cried as well, hugging Link’s other leg. “Martel just tripped over one!”
Malon looked to Link. “I thought you said you hit them.”
Link shrugged. “Well apparently tripping works just the same.” He leaned down to the twins, and patted each on the head. “Promise me you won’t do that again.”
Martel sniffed. “We promise!”
“Yeah.” Rioan coughed. “We won’t do it again!”
Link then took the boys inside to get them cleaned up. The rest of the crew followed, and Malon whistled for Shanks to come as well. The last thing they needed was another cucco catastrophe.  

[Kallori]

Chapter 11

As autumn slowly crept up, Link took the boys into Castle Town one day to buy tree saplings. It was a request from Malon, since the ranch was practically bare and prone to the heat.
“I wonder how many saplings we should get.” Link asked. The three were on Epona, and the twins were sitting in front of Link, as he had his arms beside them to hold the reigns.
“Lots!” Martel said, rather excited.
“Enough to cover half the ranch!” Rioan added.
Link laughed as they trotted over the drawbridge. “Well, we’ll see how much we can afford.” From their sales, Malon had given Link a thousand rupees to spend on the saplings. “Now, where’s the stall?” The three of them looked around the plaza. It didn’t seem there was anything selling tree sprouts. Link turned to a guard who was walking by, presumably heading back to or from his post. “Excuse me; do you know where we can find tree saplings for sale?”
The guard turned to Link. “I don’t know if there are saplings, but I know someone selling something called Mystical Seeds.”
“Great, do you know where he is?”
The guard pointed towards the western half of the plaza. “He’s right over there.”
“When Link looked in the direction the guard showed them, there was an odd sign with five different objects on it. “Thanks.”
“Thanks mister guard!” Martel waved as Link prodded Epona over to the store. He jumped off, and then reached for the boys, carrying them down one at a time. Upon further inspection, There was some text written under the sign; “Mystical Seeds”.
“Looks like this is the place boys.” The trio then walked in, and were swiftly greeted by the owner behind the counter.
“Welcome to my seed shop! What can good ol’ Frint do for you folks today” Frint had a peppy attitude, which fit his slightly rotund figure and slowly balding scalp. A few stray hairs were combed over it.
“We’re looking for some seeds to plant on the ranch.”
“Oh, you’re here to buy? Then good news, Frint has just what you’re looking for!” he bent over and opened a drawer. He came back up a moment later with a display case, which held five very different seeds. “These are Mystical Seeds, imported all the way from Holodrum! Go on, take a look!”
“Holodrum? I’ve never heard of it.” Link looked at each of the seeds, though the boys also wanted a peek, and tried to climb on the counter. Link picked them up in each arm, letting them look at the seeds. “How much do they cost?”
“They’re just twenty rupees a seed!”
“What’s that one?” Martel pointed to a red seed that resembled a bonfire.
Frint put a finger on the case. “That’s an Ember seed. They tend to burn whatever they touch after being thrown, so be careful when harvesting them.”
“And that one?” Rioan pointed to the next seed, which looked like a small ball with stubby spikes.
“This here’s a scent seed.” Frint exclaimed. “Its smell is horrible to Hylians, but it attracts enemies towards it, intoxicating them. They seem to focus more on the seed than their foe until the smell goes away.”
“Sounds useful if you’re in a pickle.” Link remarked.
Frint laughed at his comment. “Yes, I suppose so!” he then moved his finger to the next one, which looked like a miniature tornado. “This one’s called a Gale Seed. It stirs up a great whirlwind to whisk you off to another location. Where you end up is anybody’s guess!” Link looked at the boys, who seemed interested in them all as Frint moved to the next one. “This one’s a Pegasus Seed. Just sprinkle its dust over your head, and before you know it, you’ll be running laps around Hyrule in no time flat!”
“Sounds convenient.” Link drew his gaze to the last seed. “What about that one?”
“This last one is a Mystery Seed. I’m not sure how it works myself, but apparently it has the capability of using all four of the other seeds. Just be careful how you use them, some people have caught fire thinking it would give them the speed of a Pegasus Seed.” Frint paused, scratching his head. “I really don’t know why I’m permitted to sell them.”
“Hm. I’m just glad you haven’t been sued yet.” Link put down the boys and dug in his pocket. “You said twenty rupees?” Frint nodded. “I’ll take ten of each.”

When they arrived back on the ranch, Malon greeted them and asked how much they bought. Link told her fifty, and that it was a start. He also explained each of their properties when all of them took up shovels to start planting them. He let Martel and Rioan go play somewhere, and not to bug the cuccos as a warning. The boys pranced off, ready to have fun.
“So when is harvest season for these seeds?” Roth asked, wiping sweat off his brow.
“Frint, the store owner, said each harvest is different.” Link continued, resting on his shovel. “Ember Seeds sprout in the winter, Scent Seeds grow in spring, Gale Seeds are ready in summer,” Link paused to catch his breath, “Pegasus Seeds are harvested in the fall, and Mystery Seeds are year-round.”
“Interesting.”

Once the seeds were all planted, and winter came, Link, Talon, and Ingo rigged up an idea for their first Christmas as a family. In fact, it was Ingo who liked the idea he was willing to go through with it. Link grabbed a ladder from the storage shed next to the mill and leaned it against the side of the house. All three of them climbed up, with Talon in a red suit, white beard, and bag of goodies that they bought in town.
“Okay, are we all ready?”
Talon scratched his beard. “I think so.”
Link gave a thumbs up as he climbed down the ladder. “Remember, come down the chimney.” He then headed inside as Ingo waited to let Talon know when to act. There was also a rope to pull Talon back up the chimney.
The inside of the house was almost unrecognizable with the decorations they had hung everywhere. There was a large tree by the bookshelf on the far wall; the chimney was in between it and the hall, leading to Roth and Nalia’s rooms, where a Deku twig with a couple of berries was hung. Apparently it was customary to kiss whenever two people were under it. Link heard of that in town one day when he, Malon, and Nalia went shopping for the decorations.
Malon was holding Haydel in her lap, who was dressed in red and green pajamas. Her orange hair was slowly coming through. The boys were dressed in sweaters, also red and green, with white pants and green socks. Nalia and Roth had on matching shirts with a tree printed on the front, and dark colored pants. Nalia had on green slippers, while Roth had the more flamboyant red shoe with pointed toe. They were big and fluffy, to say the least. Holo and Maple sat in the tree, each wearing a small festive hat. Link had on a festive variety of his green tunic, with white fur trimming on the cap, sleeves, and hem. He swapped out his brown boots for a green pair similar to Roth’s, and had on white mittens. He sat next to Malon, who was in a red sweater, fur-trimmed hat, and red dress, which was fur-trimmed at the bottom. Link picked up Martel and put him on his lap, as Rioan seemed too cool for the moment.
“Is he really coming?” Martel asked. “We laid out milk and cookies, just like you said.”
“Well,” Link shifted Martel, “Santa Claus usually comes when kids are in bed and asleep, but I managed to talk him into coming early.” He looked at the ceiling, and in a rather loud voice, said, “He should be coming any minute now.”

Ingo listened for Link’s call, and waved a hand at Talon, who proceeded towards the chimney.

“It would be amazing if he came!” Martel said, excited.
A moment later, something came down the chimney, covered in soot and ash. An eruption of ecstasy ran throughout the entire room, as the boys rushed for the figure. “Santa!” they both called out, hugging his legs.
“Well well, looks like you boys are eager, yes!” Talon did his best to mask his voice. “Your father told me all about you, indeed he did.” He patted each on the head. Malon looked to Link, a caring expression behind her eyes. Link rubbed a finger under his nose and smiled. “Now, let’s see if I have anything for you.” Talon rustled through the bag, and pulled out a gift for each of them. “Here you are Rioan,” he passed the one wrapped in blue to the boy, “and this one’s for you Martel.”
Martel took the gift wrapped in red. “He knows our names!” Martel turned to his father, eyes wide and glistening. He hugged his gift, almost squishing it.
Talon then moved over to Haydel, and knelt down. “And this is Haydel, if I’m not mistaken?” Malon nodded, and Talon let out a light laugh. “Now, I’m sure I have something for this wonderful daughter of yours.” He reached in the bag once again and pulled out a rather slim but large gift. This one was wrapped in a myriad of festivity, and he handed it to Malon.
“Thank you Santa.” Malon said. She then turned to Haydel. “Alright, say goodbye to Santa.”
“You too boys, say goodbye to Santa!” Link said.
“Bye Santa!” the boys waved as Talon headed back to the chimney. “Come back soon!” Martel added.
Talon let out one last jolly laugh as he grabbed the rope, out of sight, and rose up the chimney. The boys rushed to see where he went.
“Is that how he always works?” Rioan asked.
“More or less.” Link stood up from his seat, letting out a groan. “Well boys, if you want Santa to deliver the rest of your gifts, you should hurry off to bed.” The boys immediately bolted for their room, while everybody else got up.
“That was nice.” Nalia commented.
Roth stretched. “My back hurts. I think I sat too long in that chair.” Everybody laughed.

---

Kalekos paced back and forth in her training room. Several Lizalfos minions were sparring with each other as she watched them. Her eye had healed, though not completely, and she could barely see out of it. However, she has learned to rely on her other senses in the process, thus increasing her skill overall.
Two Lizalfos lowered their weapons, seemingly exhausted. “Come on, keep it up.” Kalekos barked as she passed. “There is no room for exhaustion on the fields of war.” The Lizalfos warriors soon picked up again as she continued.
A red Lizalfos stood by the door. Since the top knight was killed, he had taken his place. Like its brethren, it carried a shield, but used a large spiked mace for a weapon. “Captain, I have news from Cobralfos.”
“Relay.”
“He wishes to see you as soon as possible. Business matters.” The tone in the Lizalfos’ voice was stern and powerful, almost commanding.
“Thank you.” She then waved for it to take leave. Turning to her troops, she said, “Keep practicing. No breaks.” and left shortly after.

Cobralfos was waiting in a darkened hall. “About time.”
“No need to get your tail in a knot.” The two then moved down the hall as they conversed.
“It’sss been yearsss sssinccce we lassst-“
Kalekos stopped him. “Lay off the hissing.”
Cobralfos sighed. “Very well. We haven’t attacked in yearsss. Why haven’t we been given ordersss yet?”
“Much better. As for orders, we receive them directly from Majar and Farras.” Kalekos paused. “And since both are tied up at the moment, we can’t attack.”
“Thisss isss ssstupid.”
“I know. I’ve been cooped up teaching my almost worthless excuses of troops for hours, even days on end.”
“But why can’t we attack on our own?”
Kalekos whipped her tail in Cobralfos’ face. “If we attack on our own, Majar is likely to kill us for suspicion of treason or actually killing the hero, and we both know how mad he gets.”
Cobralfos cursed under his breath. “Then what are we going to do? Ssstay here?”
“The answer lies in the youth.”
Kalekos looked over her shoulder. “Hello Lizzrobe.”
“Good day to you too.”
“What do you mean, lies in the youth?” Kalekos put her clawed hands on her hips.
“You will find out if you give it time to grow.” Lizzrobe’s face was also back to normal, save for a permanent scar straight down the middle. “Of that, I’m sure.”
Kalekos then turned to Cobralfos. “You heard from Aislin?”
Cobralfos shook his head. “Ssshe’sss messsing around in the Dark World. Or Light. I don’t really know by thisss point.”
“Well, until Majar or Farras sends us out, looks like we’re stuck here.”

6 Years Later...

A blue blur was seen dashing all over the ranch. Martel, who was now in a red getup similar to his father’s-fashioned by his mother-was milking a cow when the blur shot past. His cap was pulled in the direction the blur went from the breeze it created. He looked up, “Watch where you’re going!” He didn’t say it so much as an angry statement as he did a cautious one. “Those seeds don’t last forever.”
“The blur put on the brakes, revealing it to be Rioan, as his feet dug into the ground. “No sweat bro! Ranch life is cakewalk with those seeds!” Rioan had a blue tunic similar to his brothers, also fashioned by his mother.
“Don’t waste them all,” Martel said, continuing to milk the cow. “They don’t harvest until fall.” He looked at Rioan’s feet. “Nice treads.”
“What?” Rioan looked behind himself and saw he turned up the earth again. “Aw Deku Nuts!” he exclaimed, slapping a hand to his forehead. “I do that every time!”
“Pretty soon this ranch will be nothing but a ruined test track if you keep it up.”
“Har har, now I’ve wasted too much time, gotta go!” and with that, Rioan tore off again at the speed of light. Martel simply shook his head. As Rioan came back, he shouted “Look out!” and started stumbling over his feet.
Martel, on high alert, quickly jumped to his own feet before tackling his brother from the side. The two rolled for a while before stopping flat on their backs.
“Thanks.”
“No prob.” Martel stat up and offered a hand to Rioan.
“I hate when they do that.” Rioan dusted himself off.
“Yeah, it must be annoying after a while.” Martel went back to milking the cow. “You seen Shanks anywhere?”
“No. That dog is hardly seen nowadays.” Rioan panned the ranch. “It’s like he disappeared.”
“Maybe he’s in the barn.”
Rioan went to go look for the mutt, figuring something had to be up. He saw Roth come out of the barn, carrying a pitchfork and bucket of water. Hey Roth!” he called. “You seen Shanks anywhere?”
“The dog? Yeah, he’s in the barn with Haydel.” Roth pointed behind him using the end of the pitchfork before continuing, presumably to the mill.
True to Roth’s words, Haydel indeed had Shanks with her. Her orange hair resembled that of her mother’s, and she was dressed similarly too, with a pale green one-piece farm dress fastened with a pink bow around her waist. She looked up from the dog. “Hi big brother!” Rioan just waved lightly before walking away. “Big brother, where are you going?”
“Um, that way.” Rioan pointed towards no particular destination.
“Oh, okay then.” She then went back to feeding the animals.
Rioan then noticed something was missing from this picture. “Where’s mom? Don’t you usually hang out around her?”
Haydel looked at him. “She’s in the house with Daddy.”
“Makes sense...I think.” He then heard a bunch of grunts, and turned to see Martel come in with a big jug full of milk. He had to move his legs around it as he walked. Setting it down, he let out a huge wheeze. “You carried that by yourself? You should’ve called for help, or at least let Grumps get it.”
“It...would’ve...spoiled...or...knocked over...” Martel slumped against the wall. “Besides, Grumps is getting too old for this stuff.” The boys called Ingo Grumps due to his sour attitude when working.
“You’re soft, you know that?”
“You’re...no better...Mister...thinks...he can...do anything...” he turned to Haydel, “Hey...Bucket...”
“Stop calling me that!” Haydel cried. Usually she’d rely on her mother to handle disputes between them, but since she wasn’t around, Haydel had to fight the battle alone. “I’m telling mom!” she yelled, running for the house. Rioan watched her leave before slapping his brother. Martel fought back with a slap of his own. That’s when things escalated, and a brawl quickly formed. Shanks started barking at the dogs, which immediately riled the animals up.
Haydel shut the door behind her. “Mommy!” she cried out, completely bypassing Nalia, who looked up from dusting. “Mommy!”
Malon came out, leaning over the rail. “What is it sweetie?”
“Martel called me Bucket!”
Malon knew what that meant. “Link.”
Link, who was heard from the room, gave a sigh. “I know...”

When he stepped outside, he could hear some shouting. Jogging around to where the source was, he saw the twins raising a ruckus, the dog barking its head off, and the animals all in a fit. Roth came up to Link, who quickly reached for the bucket, still filled with water, and doused the boys. They stopped almost immediately. Rioan had his feet in some kind of chokehold around Martel’s neck, while Martel had one foot on Rioan’s stomach and the other on the ground. “Stop it you two! Not only are you hurting yourselves, you’re scaring the animals.”
“He started it!” Rioan pointed at Martel.
“Nuh-uh!” Martel protested, trying to wrench Rioan’s feet off of his neck.
“I don’t care who started it, I’m ending it!” Link looked in the barn. “You two didn’t even know about the cuccos, did you?”
The boys’ faces turned pale as they turned their heads. The cuccos were all in a huff, feathers flying everywhere. Fortunately there were metal doors blocking them in. The boys immediately scrambled to their feet, backing away and eventually running out of the barn.
“Boy, you sure know how to make a threat.” Roth said.
“They’ve experienced it before, they sure don’t want to do it a second time.”
Roth laughed at that statement. “No they do not.”

Moments later, Link entered the house, brushing his hands together.
“Well?” Malon asked, Haydel clinging to her leg.
“The fight is over. The cuccos scared them off.”
“Hopefully not like before.”
“No, just flapping their wings in their cages was enough.” He then bent down and brushed a hand through Haydel’s hair. “It’s over for now. You can go back out here.” Haydel tore off out the door, ready to get back to feeding the animals and playing with Shanks.

The boys continued their bickering as they walked over to the cattle pen.
“You were the one to call Haydel ‘Bucket’!”
“Oh yeah? You were the one to slap me! I was just saying hi!”
The twins continued to shoot putdowns at each other as Roth came over. “Boys, we got a tour coming through.”
“NOW?!” they shouted. Immediately they started panicking.
“What do we do?” Martel asked, pulling on his ears.
“I don’t know, I’m never prepared for these things!” Rioan covered his face with his arms, tilting his head back and gritting his teeth.
“Quick, um, get a pitchfork!” Martel said, rushing for the barn.
“Right!” Rioan followed, and they frantically searched for stray pitchforks so they could look busy.
Haydel was in the barn again, grooming Shanks, who just sat there panting. “Hi big brothers.”
“Not now, there’s a tour coming through!”
“What’s a ‘tour’?”
The boys’ faces turned to even more shock when they realized this was Haydel’s first time out in the open for a tour to see. “Never mind, just keep grooming the dog!” Martel said.

Holo and Maple flew through the gate, leading a group of about thirteen people of varying age through. “Welcome to Lon Lon Ranch, where Lon Lon milk is made daily!” Maple said. “My name is Maple, and this is my friend Holo, and we will be your guides for the tour.”

“Aw Deku Nuts, they’re here!” Martel yelped.
“Where are those pitchforks!?”
“Forget them, let’s...um...”
“Sometime this minute...”

“Lon Lon Ranch is Hyrule’s main distributor of products and goods, such as the famed Lon Lon Milk for instance.” Holo said, flying along. “On your right is the barn, where all the animals are kept, fed, taken care of, and so much more!” His next words were interrupted when the group looked in to see Martel and Rioan standing there awkwardly, with cheesy grins on their faces. “This usually isn’t one of the main sights you’d see in here.” Haydel peeked from between the boys’ legs. “Oh right, this is Haydel, daughter of Malon, say hi Haydel.”
“Hi!” she waved. “Are you the tour?”
“Indeed we are!” Maple said.
“Moving along, we have the...” Holo’s voice trailed off as the group moved along, a few people looking back occasionally to see if the boys would move.
“Well that was embarrassing...” Martel slumped against the wall where the milk canter stood.
“You’re telling me, I was trembling.” Rioan crossed his arms.
“Really, a tough guy like you?”
“Oh, don’t even start! At least we lived through another nightmare.”
Martel lazily raised a hand before letting it fall by his side. “Alright, I’ll give you that one.”
Rioan looked out to the field. The group was talking to Roth, most likely about ranch life. “Sooo... should we rig up a game of Cucco Ball?”
“Not on your life!” Martel snapped.
“Milk Gunning?”
“I don’t know.” Martel hesitated. “You can if you want.”

Link looked out the window from the bedroom. “Looks like we got another tour.”
“Speaking of which, where did we put the employee uniforms?” Malon looked around the room.
“I think they’re in the wall closet between the halls.”
Malon made her way down the stairs, when Nalia greeted her, caked in dust again. “Tour?”
“Yup.” Malon then moved along the stair wall once she reached the bottom and opened the doors to the closet. “There they are.” She dug out two boxes, one larger than the other, which held the work boots. The other held the uniforms, which were all just brown gloves, t-shirts and overalls of varying colors. “Might as well get prepared.”
“True.” Nalia said.  

[Kallori]

Chapter 12

A volcano erupted off in the distance, ash billowing out and lava gushing down the sides, eating anything it touches. Two others blew as well, following along with the first.
Aislin looked at the sight and sighed, leaning in the open window of the castle. She loved days like this when there was an extra thick cloud cover. Screams and shouts could be heard off in the distance, mostly those of civilians.
“What you lookin’ at?” Kalekos asked as she walked by.
Aislin withdrew from the window, looking her comrade in the eye. “Nothing.”
“We’re supposed to be at the altar for our master’s arrival. Farras said Majar might break it any day now.”
“Can we really trust that bat though?” Aislin complained rolling her head back before following Kalekos down the hall.
“It’s you I’m worried about.” Kalekos then viciously lashed out and grabbed the Hylian’s neck. “And if you so much as turn traitor, I swear to Vaati I will hunt you down and rip out your guts.”
Aislin gulped. “Good to know.” Kalekos then let go and resumed their trek through the tight corridors.

Cobralfos turned his head when he saw the two females stroll up. “Evening ladiesss.”
“Same to you.” Kalekos remarked. “Is he still cracking it?”
“He jussst hassn’t given up. For the lassst ten yearsss, he’sss been reading from that book, trying to break the ssspell on our massster, whittling it away with every verssse.” Cobralfos looked in the room from the doorway. Majar was rhythmically moving his free hand around, the other holding the book, as he read the mysterious words from it. They were near indiscernible just listening to them. The flames on the altars in the room now grew with a darker black, while the central altar ignited a small spark, letting a tiny flame flicker.
“There it is!” Farras said, swooping in and hanging from the doorway. “The flame to wake Master!” The castle rumbled violently, and Aislin and Kalekos fell.
“What was that?” Aislin almost screamed.
“The sound of closing victory.” Farras exclaimed, grinning widely. “It won’t be long now.”

---

Link suddenly collapsed, dropping to one knee. The contents in the basket he was carrying spilled over the field. Martel and Rioan, who were also in the field, rushed over, setting their things down beforehand.
“Father!” Are you alright?” Martel asked, trying to help him up.
“Dad!”
Link didn’t move, just stared with wide eyes at the ground. It can’t be...but it isn’t...
“Are you listening Pops?” Rioan shouted in his ear before trying to hoist him back on his feet. Try as he might, Link just wasn’t getting up.
“Dad, you’re scaring us.” Martel knelt down, snapping his fingers repeatedly. “He’s really out of it.”
As the boys stood up, worried out of their mind, images flashed before Link’s face. He saw the castle he was imprisoned in, his escape, a strange realm where there was never sunlight, and various figures, all of which he recognized from the past, plus one other he hadn’t seen yet. They’re in danger. Link rose back to his feet, though as he said nothing for the next moments, started to weird the boys out. He seemed like he was in some kind of trance.
“Dad?” Rioan asked, slightly scared. “Dad, you’re freaking us out. What’s going on?”
Link stopped. “There’s something...I must do...” he never looked back, only lowered his head. “And I must do it...alone. To protect you...to protect everyone.” He then left, the boys dumbstruck by his words. They just stood there for the longest time, until Roth came up to them.
“What are you boys looking at?”
“Father...just left.” Martel gestured to the gates half-heartedly. “He said he had to do something, but didn’t explain what.”
“That doesn’t sound like him.”
“He just said he had to do it alone, to protect us. From what, we don’t know, he didn’t say.” Rioan scratched his chin. “Weird.”
“Well, I don’t know what to tell you two.” Roth said, turning around. “Other than to get back to work, that is.”
The boys continued to stand there even as Haydel and Shanks ran past, even ignoring Ingo’s shouting from halfway across the ranch, though they never knew if it was aimed at them.
“Y’know...” Martel had on a slight smirk as he looked at his brother. “He never said to wait here.”
“You’re right, he didn’t!” Rioan balled his hands into fists, and thrust one forward. “After our father!”
As the two boys rushed out, Holo peeked from his place on the roof of the barn before flying down. “What are you two doing?”
“Martel turned around, though now started to run backwards. “Our dad just up and took off, said he had to do it to protect us or something.”
“But it’s dangerous out there! You’ll be eaten alive!” the fairy protested.
“Then so will our dad! Now come on!” Rioan picked up his pace, and Martel did the same. Holo, sighing, followed them.
The twins leaped and hurdled over rocks, shrubs, and stray fencing that was in their way. Their father seemed to be heading towards Castle Town, and the boys followed, ever mindful that dusk was approaching.
“We gotta hurry if we want to cross the drawbridge!” Rioan shouted, dodging a sign.
As Link stepped onto the bridge, the boys continued running towards him. He didn’t even seem to notice, too focused on what he needed to do. He just feared the consequence he was about to pay. He heard several people shout to him from their stalls and kiosks, though ignored them as he wandered through the plaza, intent on his destination.
The boys heard a howl off in the distance, the howl of a Wolfos, and tried even harder to make it in time. The bridge started to rise, and so did several skeletons. Rioan punched one in the face, knocking its skull off. Its buddy tried to fasten it back on when Martel and Rioan reached the drawbridge. Rioan jumped, sliding a bit before getting back to his feet while Martel leapfrogged, throwing his feet in front of him before continuing to sprint.
“Made it!” Martel said with a smile on his face.
“Hey dude!” Rioan said to the guard, who just watched them run. He scratched his head, wondering where they were going in such a hurry.
“That back there was a horde of Stalchildren, cursed souls doomed to wander the night hours on Hyrule field.” Holo piped up.
“Good to know!” Rioan said, straining every muscle in his body to run as fast as he can. He then skidded, reaching out to grab Martel.
“Whoa!” Martel’s feet flew out from under him. He backed up, huddling beside his brother. The two huffed and puffed, out of breath and trying to gain it back. They saw their father up ahead and after Rioan waved, they crept along, stalking him to see where he was going.
Martel pressed on Rioan’s shoulders, trying to get a good look. He saw their father turn off the usual path, and looking up, saw an interesting building. “Hey, isn’t that...?”
“The Temple of Time?” Holo chimed. “Why would he...” Holo then figured it out, but decided to not tell the boys.
“Come on! We’re wasting time!” Rioan took off again once their father was out of sight. Martel stumbled as he tried to follow, picking his feet up a minute later.

---

“He’s heading for the temple! It just might work!” Farras said. He had led all of them, including Lizzrobe, who appeared afterwards, to view the spectacle from the fountain.
“Falling right into our trap. Niccce.”
“Sure is a naive one.” Kalekos added. She was supporting one arm with the other and resting her head in her upright arm as she watched the fountain.”
“Let’s see if he’s wise enough though.” Lizzrobe gave a light chuckle. He remembered saying a cryptic message about the three attributes of the goddesses to the boy years ago when he got his face punched in.
They all turned to Aislin, who didn’t toss her comment in yet. “What?” she looked at all of them. “Well I didn’t get my a** kicked by him.”
“Neither have I.” Cobralfos crossed his arms. “Though both of our plans were thwarted. Doesssn’t that make you feel like getting sssome revenge?”
“Don’t bother Cobralfos,” Kalekos raised her hand, turning her gaze to Aislin. “She’s only Hylian.” Aislin gave the Lizalfos a dirty look. “She’ll learn.”

---

Link slowly walked up to the altar, observing the three grooves where the spiritual stones once sat. He had forgotten what became of them when he left Hyrule, though didn’t have time to hunt for them again if he were to find out their new locations. He strode past the altar to the sealed Door of Time. He placed his left hand on it, and a surge of energy enveloped the door. The Triforce mark shone as it had once before, when he dueled Ganon to the bitter end. The door made a loud thud before it slid into the walls. He didn’t want to have to do what he was about to, but there was no choice at this point.
Martel and Rioan zipped in quietly, keeping their distance, before pressing up against the wall where the Door of Time stood. They made several gestures with their hands in order to communicate silently, but Rioan cut their conversation after peeking in to see their father slowly proceed forward.
Link took in a deep breath before looking down at the blade he once held. It was the Master Sword, the blade of evil’s bane, designed specifically to eradicate the forces of darkness while serving a separate function as a key to time itself. Now that he was old enough, the sword wouldn’t hold him in a sleep like it did in the past. He put both hands on the sword, and, closing his eyes to reflect, withdrew it from the pedestal.
A dark wind blew through the temple, followed by an evil laugh. “How long has it been, my old nemesis?”
“Apparently not long enough for the likes of you.” Link replied. The boys tried to figure out who their father was talking to, but were cut off with the next part of the conversation.
“Pitiful hero, do you really think you can beat me again? You haven’t wielded this blade for so long.”
“And with good reason.”
The voice laughed again, taking shape amongst the shadows and dark clouds, revealing a powerful man with a dark skin tone and blazing red hair. He gave a smirk. “It was inevitable that I, Ganondorf, would rise again.”
“Don’t count on staying!” Link said, lashing out.

---

“Well, that’s that. Kid took the bait.” Farras grinned.
“Show’s over.” Kalekos said, leaving the room. “I’ll go rally my troops just in case.”
“Right.” The bat then turned to the rest of them. “You guys might as well get ready as well. When our master rises, we’ll kill him where he stands.”
Aislin and Lizzrobe nodded, leaving as well. Cobralfos hung back a little. “I’ll keep an eye on him.”
Sounds good.” Farras flew out, ready to inform Majar.

---

Link and Ganondorf continued their duel, swords clanging, the noise echoing throughout the building. Martel and Rioan peeked in the odd time to see who was winning.
“It seems you don’t have the power to defeat me again!” Ganondorf taunted.
“Shut up and die already.” Link retorted, stabbing Ganondorf in the stomach. “I killed you once; I can certainly do it again.” He withdrew the Master Sword from the Gerudo’s gut, who slumped forward. With a nod, Link turned, leaving Ganondorf to slowly die. He’d be ready if the Gerudo King tried any other tricks.
Then suddenly the entire building rumbled and large chunks of stone came crashing down. Link had no choice but to make a break for it. As he made his way into the main hall, he hurdled over the altar, as Holo flew up to him. Link didn’t even seem to notice until he reached the door, whipping around. “BOYS!” Martel and Rioan rushed for their father, dodging any rubble on the floor and falling to it. “What are you doing here?”
“We could ask you the same thing pops!” Rioan said. The four of them eventually left, fleeing for safety.

As they stood outside, and the ground continued to shake, all they could do was watch what unfolded. The Temple of Time continued to collapse in on itself, until a large black beast shot out of the roof, destroying what was left of the building.
“What’s that?” Martel asked, trembling.
“It’s possible it could be Ganon.” Holo said.
Link observed the beast. This one had wings, and more of a dragon appearance, not anything like Ganon, who was more pig-like in his beast form. “It’s something else. But I don’t know what.”
“Is that...what’s in its claw?” Rioan asked, pointing. It was hard to tell what the dragon was holding, but a flash of red hair made it evident. “Is that the guy you were fighting?”
“Yeah, that’s Ganondorf.”
“What do you think it wants with him?” Martel asked. He was always curious and wanted to know everything if it interested him.
“I’m not sure, but the dragon can have him for all I care.” Link’s tone seemed harsher and more cruel than usual.
It was around then that the dragon looked down at its prize. Giving a snarl, it tossed Ganondorf back to the ground, who rolled unconscious, towards Link and his kids. The dragon then spotted its real prize, and swooping down, looked Link over. “Hm. So you’re the Hero of Time?” Link was shocked that it could speak. “Surprised? Don’t be. I know all about you hero.” The dragon then stretched its wings to their full span, hoping to intimidate the Hylian. “I’ve waited long for this day, where I could face you in combat.”
“What do you want from me?” Link yelled.
The dragon chuckled. “I don’t want anything from you boy.” This caused Link to grow wary of this new foe. “I want you! Your body, your spirit, everything!”
“Fine, but don’t think I’ll come quietly! I’ll beat you to death with the Master Sword!”
“Oh? The legendary blade, or so they say.” The dragon then burst out laughing, its voice booming across the town. “Boy, I’ve been around since before that sword came into existence! What makes you think you can defeat me with it?”
“Worth a try.”  

[Kallori]

Chapter 13

The dragon let loose another fireball, almost searing Link’s pants for the hundredth time. Link barely had time to dodge the fiery breath, as it was massive compared to him. The two had somehow managed to move to Hyrule Field, as Link initially fled there, not wanting to put innocent lives in jeopardy. Martel and Rioan followed, the dragon still unaware of their presence. They pondered many times how they could help, but being completely defenceless, they would have to think of other tactics if they wished to help.
Link dragged himself to his feet yet again, panting and gasping for breath. In mere moments, the dragon had Link on the ropes, but he wasn’t going to die. At least, not at the hands of this foul beast. “Come on! Is that all you got?!” Link shouted, trying to intimidate the dragon.
The dragon laughed again. “Boy, I’m not even using my full strength and I’ve already got you where I want you! Now be a good boy and obey my command.”
“Never!” Link rushed the dragon, only to be swatted away with a flick of its finger.
“Just look at my size! You’re like an insect to me, boy. Nothing you will do could even lay a scratch on me!” Link grunted, losing all sense of control and changed his tactic from controlled to all out fury. He was faster than usual, though not completely insane, and through the midst of it all, landed a hit on the dragon’s claw. The dragon let out a cry of pain before clutching its wound. “HOW!?!”
“The Master Sword has the power to defeat any evil in the world!” Link responded. “You’re no exception!”
The dragon gave a low growl before slamming a clawed foot on top of Link, caging him in. “I’ve got you now. Now what shall I do with you?”
Martel and Rioan decided this to be their opportunity and quickly scrambled up the dragon’s tail, as it was on the ground, mindful of the spikes that dotted it. Though it was indeed massive, the boys did their best to get onto its back.
“Now what?” the dragon asked, lifting its tail, causing the boys to slip and grasp onto the spikes in order to stay put. But suddenly the beast yelled again, flinging its tail hard to the ground. Martel and Rioan came down with a thud, though were eager to resume their mission. Looking at its claw, it found another wound on the palm. Link had used the interference from the boys to escape and hurt the dragon again. “Insects! All of you!” the dragon roared.
All of you? Link was confused. Were the boys helping him without his knowing?
“Quick, get a Pegasus Seed!” Martel said, and Rioan rooted in his pockets for one. After pulling out the correct seed, Martel swiftly grabbed it and sprinkled its dust over his head, to which he took off up the back of the dragon in a blur. “Don’t worry father! We’ll save you!”
When Martel called out, Rioan decided to stay on the ground. He wasn’t going to risk getting flung off from another whip of the tail.
“What is this now?” the dragon started searching its back with its claws, though Martel evaded its reach. “Come on dad! Strike him now!”
Link nodded. He had no idea what the boys were doing, but he was willing to let them help if it would spare both his life and theirs. He dashed towards a foot and swiftly dealt a multitude of blows. The dragon raised its foot, almost falling over, before stomping it down in an attempt to squish the Hero of Time. Link dodged, though got the skirt of his tunic caught on a talon, ripping it. “Great.” He mumbled to himself. He then whaled on the dragon’s other foot, and while it had it raised, Link pulled a stunt that might cost him his life. If the dragon would stomp like it did previously, it would land on the tip of Link’s blade, as he pointed the sword upwards. True to his idea, the dragon did indeed bring its foot down, and the Master Sword punctured through, the bottom of the foot almost coming to the hilt.
“Yeow!” the dragon yelled, bouncing on its other foot, and taking Link along for the ride. Martel did his best to hold on, and managed to grab one of the dragon’s wings for support. The beast eventually toppled, crashing hard, and as it did so, Link withdrew the sword from the foot and launched off it, ready to tear up another part of the dragon.
“Come on Pops, you can beat this freak!” Rioan yelled, hucking Scent and Ember seeds at the dragon, which created a horrible odor and scorching the dragon where each seed landed respectively. This caused the dragon to continue yelling in pain as the three continued their onslaught.
To think I had been reborn in this world, only to lose to insects, and the Hero of Time, the dragon thought. Not today! It rolled onto its feet, taking Link and Martel with it, as the two slipped off.
Link then spoke to his sons when Martel had fallen nearby. “What are you two doing here?”
“Helping you kill this thing!” Rioan said, tossing some more seeds. “Now hurry up! Don’t worry about us if it’s after you!”
“That was probably the wrong thing to say...” Martel said quietly.
The dragon then flew into the air. “You pests certainly put up a fight.” It paused, snarling. “It’s almost demeaning that I, Aeon, would lose to such ingrates!” Aeon looked at the three of them. “However, it would be a shame to waste such noble ambition. And so,” Aeon flew down with incredible speed, snatching up Link and almost running over the boys. “I’ll take my prize and leave.”
“Not if I let you!” Link said, struggling to get free of the dragon’s grasp on him. He managed to wrench his left hand free, but nothing else before Aeon’s grip tightened, causing Link to flinch in pain.
“And what do you plan to do, boy? I’ve already won.” Aeon then turned to the other Hylians. “If you two wish to come save your father, be my guest. I’ll be waiting.”
“And just what do you plan on doing to me once we get in the Dark World?” Link asked. The twins were confused. Was their father giving them a subtle hint? And what was a ‘Dark World’?
“What makes you think I’m going to the Dark World?”
“I was there before, captured by your goons. I overheard everything, so don’t bother hiding it.”
Aeon took a moment before responding. “Very well. Consider this your one-way ticket back.”
Link had to think fast. But what could he do? Coming up with an idea, he tossed the Master Sword at the boys, who dodged the incoming blade before it dug into the ground. Looking up, they saw their father give a motion to be quiet about it as he was carried off by Aeon.

---

Once they reached the Dark World, and Link had a somewhat better view of the place, he waited until they passed over a mountain before enacting his scheme. Or wait! The dragon would know. He’d better wait until they got to their destination.
It wasn’t long until they reached a large, flat mountain. The all-too-familiar castle he’d been a prisoner of before loomed in the distance. However, it was too small for Aeon to fit in.
A blackened figure Link had never seen before appeared out of nowhere. “Master! I have awaited your arrival!” the figure bowed, standing on air.
Aeon nodded. “I thank you, Majar, for freeing me from my prison.” He let Link go for now, though would be easy to take care of now that he was in enemy territory.
“And you have the Hero, splendid!” Majar said, walking up to Link. They were about the same height. “Such a pleasure to have you here!”
“Buzz off.”
Majar waved a finger. Now now, let’s not get touchy. Remember where you are.”
Link looked around, though he really didn’t need to. “I do.” He pointed at the castle in the distance. “I was held captive there already. Don’t you remember?”
A jolt went through Majar. This was the kid that caused them so much trouble ten years ago? “That may be the case, but our Master wasn’t around back then. I’d say you’re out of your league if you plan on another daring escape. Majar turned his back to Link, walking closer to his master’s head so as to converse with him. Link quickly improvised his plan, and silently put it in motion. “So, he has defeated Ganon, and now with the boy, we have the blade.”
“Indeed.”
“I say we enact step two of the revival right away. You’re going to need it to fix those scrapes.” Majar lifted himself onto his Master’s back, as Aeon grabbed Link, ready to carry him off to the castle.
A few seconds later, Majar warped inside the walls with Link, who he shoved at Kalekos. “Make sure he doesn’t escape this time.”
Kalekos nodded, giving Link a hard thump on the head with her rock gauntlet, to which he passed out. She then carried him off to the original cell he was in the first time.
“Lizzrobe, I need your expertise in extraction. We shall wait until the boy is awake again before we start.”
Lizzrobe nodded. “I will do all I can.” He paused. “But why wait?”
Majar cracked a grin. “I wish for the boy to see what we are about to do.” Lizzrobe grinned at this also.

Kalekos strapped a tighter pair of chains to Link’s wrists, before forcibly shaking them and leaning close to his face. “If you so much as try to loosen your bonds, I will kill you where you stand.” Though the words may have been shot at a wall, since Link was still unconscious. “No matter. Master will have his way with you once we’re done the ritual.” And with that, she stood by the door. This time, she was going to see to it personally the boy not pull any stunts. Her sword was propped against the wall for easy access, just in case. He made a fool of her before, twice even, as her top soldier had been killed by this pest. She would not let him get a third attempt in.
Cobralfos slithered in. “Captain, I bring newsss from Farrasss.”
“Relay.”
“He jussst had a chat with our Massster. He told usss that, onccce the ritual wasss over, we are free to kill the boy.”
“Excellent. Should all of us take turns?”
“That wasss my sssuggestion to Farrasss, and asss long asss the twerp doesn’t essscape the cassstle, it’sss anyone’sss game.”
“I guess now that Master has seen the boy, and brought him back here, he feels more confident about us detaining him.”
“Ssseemsss ssso.” Cobralfos then slithered off.
Kalekos strutted over to Link. “Hear that kid? I’ll finally be able to even the score.”

Sometime later, Link finally came around, mumbling odd words.
“Good, you’re finally awake.” Majar said as he entered the room. He was holding the scabbard of the sword upright by an unknown force, most presumably his magic. “You’re just in time to witness the greatest spectacle of your life, as it will be your last.” He turned to Kalekos. “Did he give you any trouble?”
“None whatsoever. He complied like a good little boy.”
“Excellent. And now...” Majar grabbed the scabbard physically, and reached for the hilt. “Wait, before I do this, I should summon the others.” And with a snap of his finger, the rest of them were by his side in the dungeon-Farras, Lizzrobe, Aislin, Cobralfos, and Aeon was peeking in through a window. “NOW we’re ready.” But when Majar grabbed the hilt, something didn’t feel right. His suspicions were confirmed when he pulled on it, only to reveal that the blade was broken! Shock came over the room, and all eyes were on Link. “What...” Majar was too stunned to say anything. He whipped the hilt at Link, hitting the boy in the face. “Explain this! Where is the Master Sword!?” Kalekos slammed Link against the wall, pinning him by the neck with her clawed hand.
“It’s not here.” Link said, snarky.
Lizzrobe seemed to glide over to the hilt. “I recognize this...” he picked it up, examining it. “This is the hilt of the blade he tried to fight me with.” He spoke to Majar. “He set us up.”
Majar seemed to fume with anger, stiffening his posture and clenching his fists, his arms shaking by his sides. Eventually he pointed a finger at the Hylian boy, and shouted “Execute him!” Lizzrobe shot a blast of energy at Link, seeming to incapacitate the boy, making him unable to move. Kalekos grabbed her sword and Cobralfos readied his breath.
It’s up to you now, boys, Link thought. He knew this was the end for him. Hopefully the twins would be able to stop these demons. Fire and slashing sounds soon rang throughout the room, and Aeon gave a grin from his perch on the castle walls.

---

“Well, that was interesting.”
Martel and Rioan knew that voice. “Holo?” they said together. “Where’ve you been?” Martel added.
“Nearby. I just didn’t want to become a snack for that dragon.”
“Makes sense.” Rioan then looked to the Master Sword. “So what do we do about this?”
Martel looked at it. It was stuck in the ground at such an awkward angle. “Can we even wield it?”
Holo flew over their heads. “Only those with the blood of the Hero of Time can wield it. Since you two are his sons, you should be able to.”
“Works for me.” Rioan said, quickly reaching out with his right hand and grasping the hilt.
“Hey, I want to hold it too!” Martel said, thrusting his left hand onto the hilt. Suddenly the Master Sword began to act up. It glowed white, the bright light almost blinding. “Is it supposed to do that?”
“I don’t think so...” Holo said. But before the boys could withdraw their hands, the sword split, and in that same second, the boys were flung away from each other with extreme force, as if caught in an explosion. Both landed hard with a thud, the half they held onto sticking into the ground near them.
Rioan groaned, sitting up. “What just happened?” He then looked at the part of the sword that was near him, positioned in between his legs. Any closer... “The sword broke!?” He yelled, swiftly pulling it from its place in the dirt.
Martel got up, digging his half out as well. “How did this happen?”
Holo was in a panic. “I...I don’t know! It’s never happened before!”
“It broke because of you!” Rioan snapped at Martel. “If you hadn’t touched it, it would still be intact!”
“Hey, don’t blame me! We’re both responsible!”
“Boys, calm down!” Holo protested.
The three continued to argue when a couple familiar faces came towards them. “What’s going on here?” Nalia asked.
“Is that...” Maple flew over to the blades the boys were holding.
“It’s the Master Sword, but Martel broke it!” He pointed his half at Martel. Holo saw something odd, and flew up to Rioan’s hand. A golden triangle was emblazoned on the back, before dulling and turning brown. “Oh my Din...”
“What, what’s wrong with my hand?”
“You have the mark of the Triforce! Or...sort of, anyway.”
“What do you mean, ‘sort of’?”
“Well it’s supposed to be three triangles, and only one highlighted. However, you just have one triangle.”
Martel checked the back of his hand, it was hard to see, so he took off his glove, revealing a similar mark. “I’ve got one too!”
“This is weird...” Holo paused, flying around again. “Your father was the carrier of the Triforce of Courage. Perhaps when you touched the sword, its power was transferred to you both?”
“So we now have half a blade and half a Triforce? Great.” Rioan crossed his arms. “What good is that?”
Martel, Rioan, and Holo sat there, pondering the predicament. That is, until Nalia spoke up. “Look, I don’t know what’s going on, but your mother’s worried about you!” Speaking of which, she didn’t see Link anywhere. “And where’s your father?”
“Oh that...” Martel looked down, scratching the back of his head. He wasn’t quite sure how to respond without dropping a bombshell.
“We really should get back. We’ll explain everything then.” Rioan added.

“What?” Malon asked, shocked by the news.
“That’s all we know mom.” Rioan said, dropping his arms to his sides. “I wish we could say more-“
“You’ve said enough.” Malon put a comforting hand on each of her sons’ shoulders. “Let’s pray to the goddesses he’s alright.” She then hugged them, and the boys exchanged nervous glances. Though they wished their father to be alive and well, they had their doubts.  

[Kallori]

Act 1: Heist
Scene 1

Two boys were seen running across the prairie of Hyrule Field in the dead of night, each one carrying a sack of moderate size stuffed with various things they could find. They giggled here and there, muttering things to each other in whispers, so as not to alert anything to their location. They stopped for a moment only to get their bearings, before making a dash for the forest.

“Are you sure about this?”
“Yes, now come on!”
Martel and Rioan ran into the field, each carrying a small bag of supplies they would need for the upcoming journey. They would find out what the dragon wanted with their father, no matter the cost. They looked around, not sure where to start.
“Well?” Martel asked. “Where to?”
The drawbridge to Castle Town lowered, and out rushed a knight, searching for something. He held out a lantern to help find what he was looking for.
“How about the castle?” Rioan asked in kind. “We could get some info from him.”
It seemed like a logical choice, but Martel had a weird feeling about it. Before he could catch his brother, he saw him already on his way to the knight. All Martel could do was watch. The knight seemed to say something that appeared to offend Rioan, and soon after, the boy was being taken to the castle against his will. Martel chased after, keeping to the shadows and out of the light.
Rioan, meanwhile, was thrown in a cell, landing hard. He looked up at the knight, a female in her mid twenties, as she shut the door.
“Now you’re going to stay in here until you’re given a trial.” She said in a rather stern voice. “Until then, I expect no funny business.” She then walked away, not caring to hear the boy’s complaints.
Rioan didn’t bother trying to defend his innocence. He knew Martel was still out there, he just hoped he wasn’t thrown in jail already. Instead, he waited, biding his time until Martel showed up or the trial began. Jeez, ten years old and I’m already a felon of something I didn’t do. Mom’s not going to be happy.
Martel did his best not to be seen. He crouched on top of the high wall after riding the drawbridge up when it closed, and crawled along the outer wall. He dropped inside, landing behind a house directly beside the path to the drawbridge. The guard that stood there thought he heard something, but since no other noise came up, he returned to his post. Martel, hearing the noise of the guard’s armor, knew he had to be more cautious, but at least he was in. Fortunately there wasn’t much light here as he tiptoed through the grass. When he was far enough away, he made a small dash. Now he had to conquer the plaza. It was bathed in light from the several dozen torches strewn here and there, so he had to resort to the back lanes. Unfortunately, they had a few torches as well, so he had to be quick about it. Luckily, he spotted a ladder, and seeing no one around, quickly made his way up it, stepping onto a roof. Though it wasn’t what he had in mind, it was better than blindly rushing through the town. Now he just had to navigate his way to the castle. That’s where he suspected Rioan was taken.
Suddenly a familiar light moved over to him. “Martel, what are you doing?”
Martel, caught off guard, quickly ensnared Holo with his cap, making sure the fairy couldn’t get out. Holo was seen bouncing against the material of the cap, trying to free himself, all the while yelling at the boy. “Quiet, will you? I’m trying to rescue Rioan!” Martel said in a hush.
Holo seemed to calm down, and Martel peeked inside his cap, keeping the fairy’s light out of sight to prying eyes. “What do you mean?”
“Rioan’s been taken by a knight, and I’m trying to save him! I was perfectly fine before you showed up!”
Holo sighed. “Fine, but I’m not leaving.”
“Suit yourself.” Martel said, putting the cap back on his head. He then proceeded to jump from roof to roof, making his way ever closer to the castle. He stopped when he started hearing voices. It sounded like a whole bunch of people running through the streets. It didn’t take long to guess they were knights or guards by the clanking armor.
“Keep searching! The other’s got to be around here somewhere!” one of the shouted, waving a torch as they continued to roam the town. Great, now Martel was being hunted. He rolled his eyes at the fact. Once all the soldiers were gone, Martel quickly hopped the gap. Only a few more houses before the castle grounds.

Rioan paced in his cell. When is he going to get here? It didn’t even occur to him that Martel would have to navigate inside the castle while still keeping out of sight. It was so bright in here though, what with all the torches in the halls. He’d have to work up a strategy when Martel arrived.

Martel heaved himself onto the ledge that was connected to the first gate. He was surprised how little enforcement there was here. Maybe because they were all in town looking for him. Oh well, easier for him. He quickly made a dash for the gate, spotting a small hole with a ladder leading down into it, and promptly followed its cue. Once inside, he turned around to see a door. He was about to open it, when a thought occurred. What if a guard was standing right outside? This posed a problem. He noticed a torch on the wall from its surrounding light in the cramped space, and quickly devised a plan to infiltrate. Taking off his cap, he quickly shoved it in his pocket. Holo flew out before he was stuffed in as well. “Sorry Holo, but I’m going to have to leave you for now.”
Holo didn’t know what the boy was planning, but gave encouragement anyway. “Do it. Prove Rioan innocent!”
“Uh, right.” Martel slipped out the door as Holo flew back up and waited on the top of the ladder until Martel got back. His suspicions were right, as a guard was on the other side, and promptly took notice.
“Hey you! What are you doing?”
Martel had to think fast. “My nightly rounds.” The guard gave a questionable glance. Martel had to do better. “I’m a rookie in training.”
“Well doing your job or not, this isn’t exactly the right time to be wandering about for someone of your rank and age.” Martel took a little inside blow from that statement. “Hurry on back to the castle before you get hurt.”
That’s what I’m afraid of, “Sure thing!” and with that, Martel casually strolled through the grounds, riding the rookie horse all the way to any guards that asked, and usually getting the same answer as the first. Fortunately for him, he was unrecognizable without his cap on. Holo kept a tab on the boy thanks to the torch, though started to fret when Martel reached two guards just outside the door to the castle innards.
“What do we have here?” one of them asked.
“Seems like just a kid.” The other retorted.
Martel had to remain calm and focused. “I’m a knight in training. I was told it was too dangerous to do my nightly rounds, given the circumstances, so I’m turning in.”
“Right, so you didn’t know that two boys broke in and stole from the Queen’s vault?” The first said, bending down to get a good look at Martel. I’d say they were about the same age as you.”
Great, they had him pinned. Think fast Martel... “What were they wearing?” the guards thought for a moment. “Maybe I can catch them for you!” He didn’t know if it would work, but he hoped the guard would divulge any knowledge he had.
They were dressed in rather dark clothes.” Phew, he was saved. “I didn’t get a good look at their faces though.”
“Who’s to say this kid isn’t one of them?” the other guard interjected. “They could have easily switched clothes!”
Now Martel was back in hot water. “What about hair color? I know that hair is one way to easily identify someone.”
“Now that I think about it...” the first guard said, recalling his memories. “I don’t remember them being blonde like you.” Martel let out a little sigh. “They were a darker color, but what, I’m not sure.”
“Got it, dark clothes, dark hair, my age.” Martel summed up. “Now about turning in?”
“Oh, right. I’ll lead you to it.” The first guard turned to his partner, “You’re fine by yourself Leonard?”
“Dandy.” The guard named Leonard gave Martel a suspicious glance as the first walked away with the boy.