TLOZ, Rebirth

Link sat in the corner of the room, breathing heavily, as the dust settled around him. Something had exploded and thrown him across the room. 'This seems to happen a lot. If I'm not being beaten up and thrown, I'm being blown up and thrown.' It took a moment before he could see again, and what he saw when the dust settled made his heart skip a beat. Chained to the opposite wall was Zelda. He stood there, stupefied. He couldn't have already found where Granadhim had taken her, he just couldn't have. Still standing there, the Zelda he saw turned her head and her eyes widened in shock.

"Link," said a hollow, startled voice coming from Zelda.

Link started forward in a trance; he blinked and shook his head. He should know better. Scowling, he walked towards the being. Getting closer, he could see the transparency of the skin and the soulless grey eyes.

"How DARE you impersonate my wife!" Link yelled at the imp.

The imp smiled devilishly then vanished into thin air. Link growled and swung his sword into thin air. "Come out you pest! I want you gone so I can get on with my quest!"

Laughter rang from every corner. Link spun around and watched carefully for the imp to return. Turning back around, she was standing right in front of him, face to face. Link jumped back and swung at the imp. She dissolved and Link smashed his sword against the ground, making the room ring.

"Why are you fighting me, young Hero?" asked the imp.

Link swung his head around, but saw nothing. "You impersonated my wife! Why shouldn't I defeat a child of darkness such as yourself?"

The imp chuckled and reappeared across the room. "Do you not remember me?" she asked.

Link stared at her, letting her image sink in. It had changed. She stood before him as a short, black and white clothed imp with flame orange hair and red eyes. She looked at Link curiously, awaiting his answer.
"I don't recognize you, I'm sorry," said Link. "I have no clue as to who you are except that you fed off my fears and longing, and I don't appreciate that!"

The imp hung her head and sat down on the floor. "Has time really gone that far by?"

Link looked at her quizzically. "What are you saying?"

The imp looked up at Link and tears could be seen in her eyes. "I…I am the Spirit of Fire." She wiped her eyes. "Many years ago, I met one such as yourself. Even though this place may seem empty and deserted, many people come through, just out of curiosity. None of the people could see me; all but one. His name was of the one you bear. He came here while passing through, though he could not free me, for it was not the time. Finally, my guardian has called for me and we shall be reunited."

Link stared at the imp, mouth gaped. "But…how…why…"

"Why did I do what I did to you when you entered?" finished the imp. "He had the same fear and longing. I thought you were him, that's why I did it, because I though the deviation would be recognized."

Link returned his sword to its scabbard and came over to the Spirit. "Why don't we go now? I see why you did it now, and I forgive you. Come."

The Spirit took Link's outstretched hand and stood. They exited the temple with no problem, but Link couldn't shake the feeling that there was more. They continued their departure undisturbed. Link's mind was alert as ever though; something just didn't feel right. Swinging the Spirit first up into the saddle, Link took one more look around then got on behind her. 'There were no enemies in the temple, and none right now…What's coming?' They got almost to the gate when Epona whinnied and stood up on her hind legs, frightened. Link gripped her reins and the Spirit of Fire tightly, trying not to fall off.

"Whoa, girl, whoa!" yelled Link.

Epona returned to all fours, but her ears kept twitching from side to side. Link looked around to see if he could spot what had spooked Epona. He couldn't find anything; then within the blink of an eye, he was thrown to the ground by an invisible force. Looking up, he saw bat like creatures flying through the air, screeching at them. The Spirit of Fire clung tightly to Epona's reins, trying to calm her down.

"Link!" cried the Spirit. "I'll find your horse and I a safe place; please, take care of these pests!"

"No problem!" Link answered her. Drawing his sword, he waited for the first attack. It ended up coming from a different angle. From behind, he was struck in the back. Link returned to his feet and spun around. A Wizzrobe stood behind him, clawed hands raised. From another direction, a high pitched screech sounded. Link turned toward the noise and saw a strange creature; its head had a circular mask with spikes around it and a tower type peak. On the front of the mask was an interlink design with a yellow gem at the top. Several of them were spaced out around Link, blocking any exits.

"Stupid!" Link said between clenched teeth. "I should have paid more attention to those symbols in the temple! These are exactly like those drawings."

The few flying skeletal like batmen landed within the circle and cried out at Link. Surround, Link growled, but held his ground. He had to get out of this, for Zelda's sake, for their children's, and for all of Hyrule. The first enemy to make a move was the Wizzrobe. Raising its clawed hands, a sphere of orange light lit up between them and shot out at Link. Link deflected the attack, bouncing it back at the Wizzrobe and shocking it. Taking the opportunity, he lashed out at the batmen and turned them all into piles of dust. The Wizzrobe regained its bearings and shot another sphere at Link. Again Link deflected the attack, and as the Wizzrobe was down, Link went for the newer enemy. As Link slashed at it, the enemy vanished from site. It reappeared behind him, knocking him atop the head. Link grabbed his head, wincing. Again Link slashed at it; this time, he was successful. It reared its head then turned into a pile of dust.

"Now for the rest," said Link, breathing hard.

Returning his attention back to the Wizzrobe, Link waited for the next attack. It only took a few seconds for it to release another sphere and Link paralyzed it; taking one swing, the Wizzrobe vanished. Link looked up then as he saw the rest of the enemies retreating.
"Get back here you! It's time for you to be gone!" Link opened his mouth again, but held his tongue. Coming up from in between the lines came a dark figure. It took Link a moment to realize it was a shadow of himself. It came to stand directly in from of Link. Looking up, it set its blood red eyes on him, grinning evilly.

"We meet again, Hero," it said in a hollow voice.

Link frowned. "I thought I already killed you?"

The shadow Link grinned. "Oh, you did, but don't underestimate the powers of darkness."

Link twisted his grip on his sword and waited. The shadow Link saw his pause and came in for a blow. Link blocked it easily. It kept at it like that, the shadow Link attacking and Link defending himself with ease.

"Your fighting style hasn't changed a bit," said Link with a chuckle.

The shadow Link frowned. "Just wait." With a flick of his wrist, the shadow Link brought the pommel of his sword down on Link's shoulder. With a crack, Link went down, crying out in pain. The next move came as a blur. Shadow Link swung his fist at Link's face and made impact with his jaw, then he swiped his sword across Link's chest and opened a long wound. "How do you like that?"

Link groaned in pain. 'Seriously? I'm showed up by my own shadow!' He slowly got to his feet. His shoulder screamed at him as he hefted his sword, but he didn't care. This had to end. "Let me show you." Link let out a cry and swung out at shadow Link. Shadow Link raised his shield and blocked the attack, a sly grin on his face. Link didn't give up. He kept pummeling shadow Link, striking wherever he could. He wasn't able to get a strike until shadow Link diverted his attention for just a second, leaving him vulnerable. Link went for the opening with force, bringing shadow Link down to his knees quickly. Flipping him onto his stomach, Link dug his knees into shadow Link's upper arms and bent down to whisper in his ear.

"I've learned a lot too since our last battle. You shouldn't have underestimated me." Link sat back up and pointed the tip of his sword at shadow Link's neck. "And now it's time for all of this to end." With one hard shove, Link sent his sword through shadow Link's neck. Shadow Link stopped wriggling beneath him and slowly turned to dust. Link continued to sit there, breathing heavily, long after shadow Link had vanished. The Spirit of Fire came back as it got quiet, Epona slowly coming up to Link.

"Link, are you alright?" she asked. Link looked up at her through half opened eyes. He swayed a little as he tried to stand, but failed and fell over unconscious. "Link!" The Spirit dismounted and ran to Link's side. The gash across Link's chest was oozing blood. His tunic had soaked up a lot of it, but it was still coming. The Spirit of Fire made quick work of Link's belts and shrugged off his tunic. The wound was deep and Link's breath came in ragged gasps.

"Stay with me Link," said the Spirit. "You'll be fine very soon."

Granadhim stood in his lab, a knife in one hand and a cup filled with Duiren's blood underneath his wrist. With one quick stroke he slashed open his wrist and let the blood flow into the cup. He watched as it trickled in; as soon as the blood made contact, black fumes started up, not stopping and becoming thicker and thicker. Granadhim coughed and waved a hand in front of his face, trying to see but failing.

"Stupid kid!" Granadhim coughed again and felt around for the door. As soon as he found it, he flung it open, a cloud of black smoke following behind him.

The guards standing by immediately went into action as they saw their master fumble out. Granadhim shook them off and went off toward his drawing room, mad.

It had been two days since the accident and Granadhim sat in a chair in his bedchamber. Naboru was splayed on the bed, fiddling with the tassel on the coverlet.

"What's wrong dear?" Naboru asked. "I know you're mad about what happened, but there's got to be another way. So far you've been deceived, but I'm sure you'll be able to get the truth out of them soon." Naboru looked over at Granadhim, but he wasn't paying attention.

"I've put the princess back to having no food and a gag, but I feel she still won't talk." Granadhim passed a hand over his tired face and looked up at his wife. "What am I to do? That stupid hero is making progress as we speak and I can't even seem to find a way to overthrow him!" Granadhim sighed. "I can see why my father was so angry at him."

Naboru slid off the bed and sat down in Granadhim's lap. Granadhim wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her neck. "Why don't we get in bed?" Naboru said. "A good night's sleep should help for tonight." Granadhim nodded and followed her to bed.

Zelda hung against the wall, being tortured again. Nightmares swam before her eyes. Within the past few days, Granadhim had been scaring her senseless; thoughts of her son being sacrificed, her husband dying by Granadhim's hand, Hyrule being overthrown, and herself having to watch it all. She leaned her head against her shoulder with fatigue and her body shivered, tears falling. 'Make it stop, please; make it stop!'

Duiren sat in his cell, staring at the rough stone floor. It reeked of rats and bodily fluids and the metallic of blood, but nobody cared. It was a place of death, and Duiren was left to rot. Duiren closed his eyes and thought about what had happened when Granadhim had visited. It hurt to think he had been tricked, but he was young, and naïve. He knew nothing of the adult world, he was only a child. He could do nothing for his father or mother, nothing at all. He wasn't a hero like his father, he was too weak. Duiren put his head between his knees and cried, making the cells resound with his wails. He quickly, though, wiped away his tears; if he wanted to be a hero like his father he'd have to toughen up. Standing, he stood straight and held his head high.

'I will save us from this foul place, Father, just wait and see.'