symuun

Hahaha! Brilliant! Now there's a twist for you. You've got a gift for this, Wrath.

---

Tom

Like Frankenstein, Scar does things HIS way.

---

MaLink

Wrath Mania

---

"Long live impudence. It's my guardian angel in the world." --Einstein

Tom

First of all, FINALLY.

Second of all, good chapter. 'Cept for the occasional thing, which I don't normally point out but you asked me to. So, here's one:


Link waited for Scar to go through his round, and then Link drew his sword and shield and came around the pillar, charging. Scar took aim again, but Link continued forward,

Took him where? To the movies? I know you were probably in a mindset, or kinda groove and were just zooming through, so you have a few syntax jumbles here and there. I'll point out more later if you'd actually ****ing answer your phone and hang out with us tonight.

But, uh, yeah good chapter. Good fight scene. I'm looking forward to the Aquamentus' smackdown.

Suggestion: Maybe combine this and the last chapter together to form one SUPER CHAPTER? It just seems like it would work better that way.

---

Wrath Mania

it says took aim, so it appears I'm not the fool, YOU ARE.

---

"Long live impudence. It's my guardian angel in the world." --Einstein

Dostoyevsky

Hahaaah!

A very good chapter with lots of action, just the way I like it. But I really can't stand that magazine fed mini-crossbow

Oh and I hate it when you cut off chapters like that=p

---

Tom

Yo that's weird, it totally said HIM this morning.

I must be losing it.

Also, you suck, and you're still not answering your phone. We're getting hotwings Bob. Hoooootwings. I know how much you love them. Oooooh, delicious wings. Mmmm. So good. All for us. I guess you won't get any.

---

Dostoyevsky

Oih! I demand a new chapter

---

Tom

I'll never get tired of that line.

---

Wrath Mania

Chapter Cont. Finally.


Link heard the stadium break into cries of terror just before they were outmatched by a screeching roar from the long jaws of the Aquamentus. Everything shook, and Link had no chance to get up or even glimpse at the Aquamentus, instead he kept his shield over his body as he great dragon took a swipe at him, causing Link to go tumbling wildly across the sand and rock.


Link hit his head hard as he came to stop. Fighting to stay conscious, he opened his eyes and saw a shiny, pointed object a few meters away. Before Link could even think of making a grab for his sword, a huge, scaly foot came down in his field of vision, three clawed toes gripping the sand next to him.


The Aquamentus was the color of green mud, its stocky body clearly designed for one purpose. Its hind legs were the size of tree trunks, its smaller upper limbs allowing it to stand bipedal, which it now did as it towered over Link, easily twice as tall as the Dodongo. The narrow snout was pointed down at Link, gaping jaws easily large enough to swallow him whole. A pair of red eyes pierced through the fog, between them a long, straight horn that looked as if could easily impale prey, and judging from the stains across it, had done so before. The Aquamentus’ great tail wiplashed behind its body, and on its back spread wings wider then it was long. The beast’s maw widened, and then Link felt heat rushing towards him.


In the next instant, Link was already on his feet, running under the legs of the dragon as he felt flames rip around on the ground. The whip-like tail swung just over Link’s head, and then he heard great flapping. The Aquamentus was going to chase him from the air. Link tried to see where he noticed his sword, but the mist left him completely disoriented, and the cries of the Aquamentus somewhere above him caused him to run only faster, back towards the circle of pillars.


Link reached the pillars and dove behind one. The Aquamentus crashed through, causing rubble to rain all over Link. The beast landed in the center of the circle, and Link got to his feet to see Scar dodging the swipes and bites of the great dragon. Without thinking, Link pulled a firecorn from his side and hurled it at the great dragon, hoping it would have some effect. It exploded on the creature’s side, causing the crowd to shout in the distance. The Aquamentus, however, merely turned towards Link after swiping Scar to the side, now giving Link its full attention. Not a good move, Link thought.


He was about to consider his options when the Aquamentus unleashed another torrent of its wicked breath, and now Link and Scar were running for cover in opposite directions as everything lit up. The fire came in packets now, and Link caught one hurtling right for him as he raised his shield. There was a great flash, and Link realized as he continued to run that his arm now held nothing more than a twisted handle, his own shield incinerated by the Aqaumentus’s tremendous breath. Link hadn’t reached another pillar when something hit him across the head, and his helmet went tumbling off as he fell to the ground, exposing his head. Before Link could even get his bearings, something thick and scaly wrapped tightly around his legs.


The Aquamentus’ tail apparently was prehensile, as Link’s legs were now immobilized by the tip of the beast’s appendage. Like some ugly forest monkey, Link thought grimly. The beast swung its tail madly, and Link flew with it, still caught in its constrictive grip. Link braced himself as he hit the ground, knowing the Aquamentus was going to bring it close to its maw. Before the dragon could do that, however, Scar leapt onto the beast’s back. The Aquamentus gave a screech of protest, flapping its wings rapidly. Link realized it was going to take off, and he would be going along for the ride unless he did something. He had to keep the dragon anchored, somehow.


Link felt around his belt, which was just exposed above the ever tightening grip of the Aquamentus. There he felt the rope of his grappling hook, and saw the pillar just meters away. Link unhinged the rope from his belt, wrapping the ends of it around his arms and the Aquamentus’ tail. Then he cocked his wrists back and aimed for the pillar.


Link flung his arms out with a cry just as the Aquamentus took flight. He held the end of the grappling hook tight as it whipped around the stone pillar’s base, making a clean bind. Link felt himself lifted ten feet into the air, towards the arena wall, and the rope began to tighten. It will be too much for it, Link thought desperately. Above him, Scar continued to try to harm the Aquamentus from its back, without any apparent avail. It didn’t seem the Zora knew how to defeat the beast either.


The rope stretched as far as it could, and Link felt his hands burn as the twine cut into his hands and the Aquamentus’ tail. The dragon jerked backwards, and for a moment Link thought it had worked. Then there was a deafening crash, and the stone pillar fell over. Nuts, Link grimaced as he realized his plan had failed. The Aquamentus continued towards the wall, hauling the pillar in tow and with Link now doubly constricted. Link groaned as the rope tightened around him, falling up the dragon’s tail and his neck, towards his throat. He was going to get strangled!


Then the Aquamentus tried to gain altitude as it neared the wall and a frightened crowd. Realizing its freight was slowing it down, the dragon shook its body as it let its tail slacken. Still tangled in the grappling hook, Link hurtled towards the arena floor, hitting it hard and continuing in a roll to the arena wall. Scar fell somewhere near him. The crowd was screaming as the Aquamentus roared at them. The flames along the arena wall shout up like beams to keep the dragon at bay. The Aquamentus retaliated by slamming its tail into the wall, causing a few soldiers to fall to the floor. Link raised his head to see the Aquamentus rear down on the terrified guards, meters away. Then he felt a sharp boot to the head.


Scar grabbed Link by the collar and set him on his feet, where he gave Link a hook with his steel fist. The long blades just grazed Link’s face; he felt one tear across his forehead. Link stumbled back against the wall as Scar came forward, leering. Link was ready for the second punch, which he sidestepped, causing Scar to shatter a brick in the wall. Then Link whirled around, delivering his own boot to Scar’s face.


Nearby the Aquamentus had plunged its head into the ground as it tore one of the soldiers to pieces, twisting apart the chain-like water drains that surrounded the arena perimeter. The Aquamentus was now chasing another soldier, and Link and Scar were now very much alone in their corner of the stadium. Link knew if he was defeat Scar, this would be his only chance.


Scar was still recovering from Link’s kick as Link reached for his bow, praying that one of the three arrows he had left would serve its purpose. Scar had composed himself and caught sight of Link just as he raised the weapon, and now Scar jumped high into the air, above the arrow that sailed uselessly beneath him, throttling Link as he came down, sending them both into the mud alongside the torn ducts. The crowd nearest to them had returned to their seats and was watching as if they were part of the brawl.


“How disappointing,” Scar hissed, just loud enough for Link to hear him as he tightened his grip on Link’s throat, “I thought knowing I am the one that committed the murder you were punished for would put some fight, some challenge into you. Why leave me wanting?”


Scar’s face came close as his iron-clad grip tightened around Link, and as Scar grinned Link took the opportunity to slam his forehead into Scar’s nose. The Black Knight loosened his grip on Link, and Link sprang to his feet, fists raised. He and Scar began to circle each other. Link grabbed his bow in one hand, and his second to last arrow in the other.


“I should have known it was you,” Link said as if it were talking to himself, “You would be willing to do any task if there were enough rupees on the table.”


Scar smiled maliciously as he continued to prowl, “You are wrong about many things, forest boy. There are some things I will gladly do for no pay.”


“So what are you saying,” Link blurted as he edged closer to the open water ducts, raising the bow ever so slightly. If he could keep Scar distracted just long enough, he could get a fair shot. “Do you have a master?”


“Quite so,” Scar said, and Link’s eyes widened in surprise, causing him to lower the bow, “Someone you know very well, in fact.”


As Scar said this, Link could plainly see the royal box directly him, and could make out Rome gazing intently at the battle, and in that horrible instant everything seemed to freeze around Link. No, he thought at this horrible revelation, it couldn’t be. It was Rome…


Link was suddenly taken back to that terrible night, and remembered Rome bursting into the room just as the king fell, and pointing at Link, bathed in the king’s blood, pointing at him with a finger of damnation. Link had never known what had hit the king from the shadows, and during his darkest, most hopeless nights he sometimes wondered if it really was his own doing. But now he allowed himself to see how convenient it was for Rome to show up, just after it happened. How Rome easily used the events for his own ascension, and for Link’s disgrace. In that horrible moment, Link allowed himself to accept what had always been lurking as a suspicion in the back of his mind, now bursting to the forefront in awful comprehension: Rome, the man who Link had always identified with the collapse of his life in some way, had actually been engineering things all along. Rome had just not seen to the end of Ordon, but the end of King Lazrus as well…


Scar grinned at Link, seeing dawning horror on his face. “Shocking, isn’t it?” Scar said, “And to think, there’s more you don’t know, and you never will know.”


The back of Link’s heels were above the edge of the water duct when Scar charged him. Link raised the bow and got a shot off, but it was hopelessly wide, and in the next instant Scar was grabbing Link and plowing him facedown into the ground, the Zora’s hands gripping tightly around his mouth as he hit the muddy water. Link’s nostrils and mouth, it blinded his eyes. Link tried to keep himself from swallowing, but Scar shoved harder. He heard the Zora sneer above him. “Goodbye, forest boy.”


Link began to swallow the muddy water, feeling its slimy contents. Scar was going to suffocate him, here and now. Yet for some reason the Zora’s grip loosened, and Link knew it must have been because the Aquamentus was coming back. Link took the opportunity to whirl around, sending Scar off of him. Then a fireball from the distant dragon ripped into the ground nearby, and both contestants were thrown backwards.


Link stood up, three meters way from Scar, who was getting to his feet in front of the torn water drain. He looked Link in the eye just as Link, without thinking, raised the bow still clutched in his hand, pulling his last arrow back in it with his other. Scar snarled, knowing he was too far to lunge at Link. A moment later Link’s fingers twitched.


The bowstring snapped forward. Scar raised his mech-arm in the same instant, as if for defense. Link knew his aim had been true, but for an instant he thought Scar had caught the arrow with his mechanical hand. Scar seemed to think this too for a moment, because Link saw a grin flash Scar’s face before Link saw his look of shock as he clutched his chest where the arrow protruded. Then Scar’s eyes rolled, and he fell backwards, into the water duct with a distant splash.


The crowd began to roar, and it began to dawn on Link that he, at long last, was the only remaining person standing on the arena floor. He had won the Versus Magna. Despite all of this, Link wanted to make sure Scar was really dead. He hadn’t even reached the edge of the duct, however, when a fireball came shooting buy, scorching the wall, and the Aquamentus again came sailing down at Link, and Link was forced to take off running blindly back to towards the center of the arena. The battle, Link thought, was not over yet. The beast still needed to be destroyed.



The crowd was roaring in protest as they saw Wolf the Merciful forced to continue battle against the Aquamentus, a battle that each and every soul present knew to be absurdly lopsided. Up in the royal box, Princess Zelda turned to Rome, trying to hide the pleading in her voice as she said, “He is the last man standing, Rome, end it. You are endangering the man you seek!”


“If he cannot defeat the dragon,” Rome replied coldly, “then he is not the Hero of Men.”



Another jet of flame shot over Link’s head, ripping apart one of the few pillars that remained standing. The rain still poured, and when the lightning flashed Link could see the great shadow of the Aquamentus looming behind him, a terrifying sight. Yet it was in one of those flashes of light that Link spotted his sword, laying neatly amongst the rubble in his path, and Link picked it up without breaking stride, and then turned to face the dragon as it took perch on one of the fallen pillars.


Link stood his ground, holding his sword at waist height. The Aquamentus was rearing on its hind legs, wings flapping as it gave a piercing scream. Its eyes blazed through the mist surrounding them, glaring down at its prey. Link stared back, motionless. Monster and man were locked in frame for what seemed like an eternity, until there was another crack of thunder, and they moved.


Those witnessing the battle from the stands would have been shocked by the ferocity of the Aquamentus’ attacks with its claws, jaws and tail, yet equally impressed by how Link managed to dodge and sift his way though every blow, his blade swirling at the dragon and piercing the fog. Flames and steel licked at opposite opponents, and roars were exchanged with cries. Despite Link’s stunning effort to stay alive against the Aquamentus, he knew none of his sword strikes were having effect on the beast’s tough hide, and that if the Aquamentus had a weak spot, he was going to have to strike it, and soon.


What had Scar been trying to get at? Link asked himself. Something around the Aquamentus’ head, but what? The eyes were protected by scales around the edges, and the jaws were too long to attempt a stab down the throat. What had Scar been going for? It was only when Link dodged a bite from the great dragon did he take note of the great horn atop the skull, the horn that it had not used for combat all night, and then Link remembered Princess Zelda’s words:


The horn is weak.


Knowing instantly what he had to do, Link became still, letting the Aquamentus grab him with its prehensile tail, just around the ribs, leaving Link’s arms free. The Aquamentus lifted him high, around its body, to face its open maw. Link swung his sword, keeping the razor sharp teeth and hooked claws at bay as the beast snarled as it took flight. The crowd gasped as predator and prey steadily made their way upwards to the ceiling, as the amazing Wolf somehow managed to keep himself from losing his sword and bearings as the Aquamentus twisted and hurled around in the air. Link slashed through the rain endlessly, and once or twice he got close to the horn atop the Aquamentus’s head. Yet he was not close enough, and he could only get within distance if he risked getting within the deadly jaws…


The Aquamentus snapped its tail towards its mouth. This time Link did not bat it with his sword, but allowed the maw to come closer. Only when he could smell the foul breath did he swing, chipping away one of the knives that lined the beast’s mouth. The Aquamentus snapped its mouth early, and Link stretched his body as far as he could and swung his sword in an arc for the horn that was within reach.


And then the Aquamentus swiped a clawed hand, and Link’s sword flew out of his grip, out of sight, towards the arena floor below.


The air had been taken out of the stadium. Link was defenseless and without anything in his hands to attack, and everyone watching knew it. He was helpless as the Aquamentus opened its mouth again, bringing Link around its head as if to avoid another strike to its nose. In his dread of losing his weapon, Link only barely noticed the gleam of a hilt sticking out of the Aquamentus’s horn from the rear. He thought he had imagined it at first, a delusion that he could somehow avoid the grizzly death he was about to experience. But no, it was clearly there. Scar’s scimitar was halfway embedded in the horn.


How Scar had gotten the blade within the horn without killing the dragon, Link did not know or care. All he cared about was twisting the handle as he came past it, and then with a cry slashing it forward. Blood sprayed across his face, and he caught a glimpse of the horn tumbling to the floor below. The Aquamentus began to screech as blood poured out of the stump on its skull and its mouth, and it gave a gurgled cry of protest before it froze in the air, and then began a vertical dive, and all Link could do was close his eyes before he hit the ground.


The muddy floor prevented it from being as rough a landing as he anticipated. Nevertheless, Link saw stars for a few seconds before he realized where he was. He sat up, seeing the large carcass before him, giving a final shudder before it fell still. The scimitar lay some distance away, and Link’s sword just beyond it. Link got to his feet just as a tremendous sound tore through the stadium.


At first Link thought the Aquamentus was not dead, but then he realized he was hearing people, people cheering and hollering and applauding. Somewhere distantly, he heard the announcer’s voice.


“People of Hyrule, the grand vizier proudly presents Wolf the Merciful… the Hero of Men!”


The sound intensified. The name Wolf was being chanted throughout the stadium. He could see Dambora, Dexter, and Raphael jumping up and down, Renado beaming at him. Link felt himself grinning back at them, and he raised his fist at them and the rest of the crowd, feeling the aching flood of victory wash over his body. He had done it. He had emerged from the Versus Magna. And, Link observed detachedly, he was the Hero of Men.



It seemed forever for the crowd to die down. As it did so, Link peered down at Scar’s scimitar. How he had managed to get it lodged within the Aquamentus without killing it seemed strange. Nevertheless, it had helped Link in the end, but only now had Scar’s revelation had begun to sink in his mind. He now knew the truth…


The crowd grew quiet. Guards rushed out from the gates, and Link realized they were accompanying someone. Only when he saw the ivory cape of the tall man and the anxious looks of the women next to him did Link realize who was coming down to greet him. The real killer...


“Wolf the Merciful!” Rome called out, loud enough for the silent crowd to here, “You have performed beyond legend in the Versus Magna. It is with great honor that I am able to call you the Hero of…”


Rome stopped short as he neared Link, and Link knew immediately something was amiss. Rome stared at Link’s face oddly, blinking. Zelda began to look back and forth between the two, and only before Rome began to shout did Link realize he was not wearing his helmet, and what Rome was about to do.


“It’s him!” the grand vizier cried, “It’s… him! The man who murdered King Lazrus. Arrest him!”


Before Link could do anything, he felt arms seize him, and he saw Rome’s smug look of triumph before something hit him hard on the back, and everything went dark.


The stadium broke into panic and confusion, and in the midst of the pandemonium no one noticed the figure crawling out of the torn water duct. Scar was still holding the arrow firmly in his mech-hand, but he cast it aside as he quietly made his way through the soldiers and townspeople flooding onto the floor. His reflexes had been perfect, and his ability to catch the arrow and then feign being hit had been almost as satisfying as it would have been to outright defeat Link. Unfortunately, that was not his job.


Scar grabbed his scimitar from the floor and watched briefly as guards dragged the unconscious warrior away. Yes, his master’s plan was going exactly as expected.


At last, Grand Vizier Rome had the man he was looking for.

---

"Long live impudence. It's my guardian angel in the world." --Einstein

Tom

Epic. Short of some minor revisions this was the biggest action thriller chapter yet.

---

symuun

Seconded. Loved it.

---

Wrath Mania

Chapter Thirty-Four: Secrets Untold

The word that Wolf the Merciful, champion of the Versus Magna, was actually Link of Ordon, Hyrule’s most wanted fugitive and killer of King Lazrus, had spread like wildfire throughout Castle Town. Many were in disbelief. Others were in outrage and were already lining the gates to Hyrule Castle, crying for an immediate execution. The Hylia Guard was already bogged down in trying to push the mobs out of the West Side Arena. Riot after riot was beginning to breakout.


Amidst the excitement, a small group had managed to break from the sea of people flooding from the arena and had quietly made their way across town. They did not stop until they reached the bar, and once they were inside, many of them were still peering outside, watching the commotion build.


There was a loud knock at the door, and the tallest of the group spoke up before opening the door. “Who is it?”


“It’s Auru.”


Renado opened the door and let Auru, Shad, and Ashei in, closing the door behind them and locking it.


“What the bloody hell happened?” Ashei demanded, “We heard Link was arrested!”


Renado, looking grave, nodded. Behind him, Telma had her arms folded anxiously, and behind her, the children were standing in the corner, alarmed.


“It appears as if this was Rome's plan all along in the event that Link was the victor,” Renado said grimly.


“We should have realized he would be in danger if Rome knew it was him,” Telma said, “Why did we let him continue after the dinner?”


“That was Link’s decision,” Renado said sharply, “He was wise enough to make it, and smart enough to weigh the risks involved.” There was silence.


“The grand vizier will now be able to use Link to open the seal at the portal chamber,” Auru spoke up.


“But we don’t know what that entails,” Shad added tentatively.


“Let us hope,” Renado said, “That Link will be able to find a solution.”


“What are you saying?”


The group turned. In the opposite corner, Raphael, Dexter, and Dambora had been listening to the conversation up until now. “We’re not going to do anything?” said Raphael.


Renado took a breath before replying, “Raphael, Link is being held within Hyrule Castle-,”


“And he’s in trouble!” Raphael cried, “What if Rome has to kill Link to open the seal? Are you going to sit here and let him die?”


“Rescuing Link would be suicide,” Renado said, his voice rising for the first time Raphael had ever seen him, “And if he was here, he would remind you how foolhardy it is what you are proposing!”


“Link would do it for any of us!”


The room had gone cold. Telma and the guild members were looking determinately away from Renado and Raphael. It was not any of them, or even the two arguing that spoke, but Beth.


“Raphael is right,” she said, “We should rescue him.”


Renado was rigid a bit longer before finally slumping his shoulders, his face back at normal ease. “We must wait for the crowds to disperse. Jumping in now would be dangerous, but most of all, we need to think.”



He could feel the cold floor beneath him. It felt like wet stone, unfamiliar and uncomfortable. The lack of pain in his eyes assured him he was somewhere dark, and the silence made it clear he was inside somewhere, somewhere isolated.


He tried to lift his head, but pain shot up his spine, so he stayed still, and instead tried to remember. Where was he, and how did he come to be here?


His initial memory was the Black Knight shoving his face into the muddy water, and for a sickening moment he could feel it within him. Why Link remembered this first, he was not sure. But the rest began to come back to him: the exhilaration of defeating Scar and slaying the dragon, raising his fist to the applauding crowd. Then his heart began to race as the next images came of the ivory man stepping out onto the arena floor, a finger being pointed his way, and then shouts and screams…


“Are you awake yet?”


The cultured tone that Link knew and hated gave him the energy to open his eyes. He was on the floor of a small, bleak cell. Behind the bars that blocked off the small alcove were two soldiers, one holding a torch that forced Link to hold up an arm to shield his eyes as he used the other to sit himself up. His weapons were gone, as was his armor. His tunic and trousers were muddy and torn, and he could feel deep cuts across his forehead pulse in the raw air.


The cell door was opened, and the figure standing between the soldiers walked in, looming over Link. “Not the celebration you were expecting, I’m sure, or that you felt you deserved. Unfortunately, murderers aren’t given parades. They’re thrown in prison.”


Link glared up at Rome, trying to express the fury rushing through his body through his eyes. Words were not sufficient for this, as Link knew the hypocrisy in Rome’s words.


Rome smiled at Link’s despising look. “Did you actually think I would not realize who you were?” the vizier asked, “That I would not see through Wolf the Merciful? Your attention craving antics made your true identity clear from the first round. And even if it hadn’t,” Rome smiled, “I knew you would enter, that you would take this chance to defy me once more, to defy your disgrace. You’re as pompous and obtuse as you always were.


“Funny,” Link croaked, his voice hoarse and hating, “I thought the same about you.” Rome laughed, and then abruptly kicked Link in the jaw. Link hit the back wall hard, blood dripping from his lip.


“Let me be very clear,” Rome said dangerously, “Part of me was hoping you would not walk away from this the winner, Link. I knew you would very likely get far, and that you would be more than a match for most. I also know what a nuisance you are. Yet,” he smiled, “my past with you makes this a personal pleasure as well. You are mine now, and you are going to serve your purpose for me.”


“Like hell I will,” Link spat. Rome kicked him again, across the face, and then hovered other him.


“You really don’t have a choice,” Rome said, and went on in a regal tone, “But being the merciful being that I am, I will let you know that if you do not make things easy for me, or try to resist, that the shaman and your friends will die.”


Link did not let the dread he felt betray his face, but continued to glare at Rome, who widened his tight smile.


“Yes,” Rome said with a knowing advantage, “I know Shaman Renado and those at the bar have been giving you harbor, and that you have a past with them. I didn’t think it would occur to your dim-witted mind that I would have men keeping an eye on you once you got far enough in the tournament. Soldiers are going out as we speak to arrest them,” Rome sighed elegantly, “I dare say if you don’t cooperate, we may have another Ordon on our hands.”


“Keep them out of this,” Link said through gritted teeth.


“Why, when I know you’ll cave in for them?” Rome grabbed Link by the collar, “Worthless scum that you are, Link, I know you grant some sort of twisted honor for your friends,” his voice dropped to a whisper, “But I promise you, even if you let them die for you, I will still coerce you. I am quite efficient at torture.”


“It’s… not yours,” Link hissed, “It will never be yours.”


“We’ll see about that,” Rome replied, their eyes mere inches apart, the fire between them palpable, “Once I kill you at the seal, and oh, how I relish the thought of that moment… once I kill you, the seal will open, and the Golden Power will be mine.”


“You aren’t worthy…”


Rome chuckled, “Ah, your old argument. That no man is worthy of having all three shards. But I am more worthy than you, Link. More worthy than you would ever know."


At this, Link managed to laugh. “You idiot,” he said, “You don’t know anything, do you? You came to Hyrule thinking you could learn everything you needed to wield the Triforce, ignoring any discipline and humility that anyone who actually ever touched a piece of the Triforce has.”


“Like you know what that humility is,” Rome sneered.


“I do,” Link said with malice, “I was a wielder of courage, right up until the moment you forced me to flee, just as the princess was the wielder of wisdom.”


“No,” Rome said, holding his tone, yet his grip on Link’s collar loosened, “She would have-,”


“Told you?” Link spat, “No, she didn’t. We both agreed not to show you are marks during the first year arrived, even the king agreed to that. Oh, he allowed you to search for a door to the Sacred Realm, but he never revealed to you that two of the pieces were right under your very nose. Only towards the end did he consider letting you know, and I did my best to convince him otherwise.”


“I bet you did,” Rome said, his voice seething.


“And even after you destroyed everything,” Link went on ruthlessly, ignoring Rome’s comment, “not even Zelda told you that two of the pieces had been within your very grasp, or that she was a chosen wielder. Not even she trusts you, she knows you’re filthy hands can never touch the Triforce,” and Link fell silent, exhaling as he gazed up into Rome’s face, which was now twisted with fury and shock.


The grand vizier stood straight and suddenly turned away from the cell. “Make sure he goes nowhere,” he said to the guards, his voice on edge, before storming down the hall, out of sight.


Still catching his breath, Link watched as Rome’s shadow disappeared, still feeling the pleasure of revealing to the grand vizier that even the Zelda did not trust him. However, Link’s pleasure quickly evaporated, and a chill went down his back, as he realized where Rome’s immediate destination likely was. How could he have been so stupid? Link knew that in his efforts to disparage Rome, he had brought the princess’s doubts to Rome’s attention.


Zelda was in grave danger!



Raphael was sitting in the corner of the bar with Dambora and Dexter as Renado finished explaining his plan. “If we know the grand vizier will be taking Link to the portal chamber, then our best chance is to wait until they are en route to the desert.”


“That’s too long,” Raphael said, “How do we know he’ll have already killed Link?”


“Opening seals throughout the ages have typically required sacrifice,” Auru explained, “If Rome is required to kill Link he will only do so once they have reached the portal chamber.”


“Rome will be traveling lightly,” Renado added, “He will not want to draw attention to transportation a criminal across the kingdom. It will be our best chance to save Link, provided we can determine their route to the desert.”


Renado was about to nod in agreement when a loud bang shook the door. Everyone in the bar froze. Telma closed the curtains to the windows, and from the look on her face Raphael knew who she had seen at the door.


“Soldiers,” she said. Her face went white. “My Gods, Renado, they must know that we-,” She was cut off by a gruff voice shouting from outside.


“This is the Hylia Guard! Open up the door, or we will do it for you!”


Renado looked at everyone in the room. “All of you go to the attic. I will handle this.”


“Renado,” Telma stepped forward, “I’m not going to let you-,”


“Telma, don’t argue, get them up there-,”


“Damn it, Renado, this is my bar and I’m not going to let them trespass!”


Renado stared at her, knowing what she really meant by this, “Very well. Kids, upstairs, now,” he motioned to Raphael, Dambora, and Dexter, “All of you as well. Now! Go!”


Raphael took off, helping the kids go as they quickly went up the narrow steps to Telma’s attic. Auru, Shad, and Ashei stayed with Renado and Telma, reaching for the weapons at their sides. Dambora had picked up Colin and Malo, and Dexter was atop his back. There was a second, louder knock just as they reached the end of the steps, and then when they closed the door, a third blast was followed by the sound of falling splinters.


Raphael’s eyes shot around the room as shouts broke out below them. He ushered Dexter and Luda under a bed, and then opened the cabinet next to it, ushering Talo, Malo, and Colin inside of it. Then he and Beth hid under a window curtain. The shouts downstairs intensified, and a few sounds of things shattering. Beth shut her eyes next to Raphael, and Raph took her hand, squeezing it tightly. In the middle of the room, Dambora was looking back and forth, perplexed.


“Where the hell am I supposed to hide?” the Goron asked.


“Do something quick, you giant lump,” Dexter said as something thundered up the stairs towards them, “They’re coming!”


Panicking, Dambora swiveled on the spot, bumping into a table behind him and knocking down a vase, which rolled over and cracked on the floor. Then he moved to the corner, amongst a cluster of barrels, and curled up just as the door opened.


A helmeted soldier was peering around the room, a torch in hand. Raphael gripped Beth’s hand tighter. Their hiding places were pathetic, they’d be found in seconds…


“Anyone up there?” someone called down the stairway.


“Doesn’t look like it,” the soldier at the door replied. Then he noticed the broken vase on the floor, “I want to do a search, just in case.”


“Forget it,” the soldier downstairs said, “We have the ones we’re looking for.”


“What about the kids? Or Fox and the others?”


“The sooner we bring the ones we have back to the guard post, the more the grand vizier will pay us. Let’s go.”


The soldier at the door hesitated, and then gave a fleeting glance around the room before shutting the door. There was the sound of footsteps below, a few more shouts, and then silence. Out of the corner of his eye, Raphael could see the armored soldiers in a circle formation moving down the street, Renado, Telma and the others in the center, chained.


It was a while before anyone spoke. Finally, Raphael took a deep breath, and then stepped out from the curtain. He pointed at the boys, Luda, and Beth, “You guys stay here. Do not leave the bar until one of us comes to get you.”


“What are you doing?” Beth asked.


“If we can save Link, we can save Renado and the others.”


“But we want to help you!” Talo said.


“No,” Raphael said, “It’s too dangerous. Leave it to Dambora, Dexter, and me.”


“Actually,” Dexter began, “If the kid wants to take my place in this hopeless mission, I will gladly let him-,” but before Dexter could finish his thought, Dambora smacked him on the head. “It’s too dangerous,” Dexter muttered.


“Alright, fine,” Talo said, “But if no one comes back for us…”


“We will,” Raphael said simply. He turned to Beth. They stared at each other for a few moments, but nothing was said.


“This is noble and everything,” Dexter said, “But how do you even expect to get inside the castle?”


“Well,” Raphael eyed a cabinet in the corner of the attic, “If I remember Telma correctly, the answer is right up here.”



After Raphael, the Goron and the Deku Scrub had left through the small passage beneath the cabinet, Malo muttered, “Telling us to stay here. Who does he think he is, Link?”



Princess Zelda was standing in the northern tower, the highest point in Hyrule Castle aside from the throne room itself. One of the most reclusive parts of the castle, it had been a place of study for many years, as well as place for meditation. The top room was small and relatively unadorned, with a few pieces of furniture and a long window at the end, from which lightning still flickered outside. Two torch brackets were lit along the wall, which Zelda had done for vision, although it was still exceedingly shadowy. Zelda had avoided coming up here for the past few years. It had been the place where she was held captive during the Schism of Twilight, and worse, where her father had fallen from three years back. It was largely the second reason that had kept the princess from coming up here since then.


Tonight though, something had changed. Perhaps it was the fact Zelda was trying to feign shock of the now public revelation that Wolf was indeed Link. Perhaps she was trying to act as if she was seeking privacy to deal with Link’s return. In reality, however, Zelda knew she had come up here irresistibly, and futilely, for answers, answers that would prove whether or not Link had been telling the truth the night before.


Zelda knew she could not possibly find anything tangible that would prove Link’s claim, but her intuition told her that at least something could be gained from coming up her. Zelda had not trusted her intuition for sometime, so she was wary of the hunch. Nevertheless, she knew that at this very moment, many levels below, Link was imprisoned, and Rome would not be preparing the trip for the desert tomorrow. Zelda had to do something, even if meant attempting to prove to the people that Link was an innocent man, and even if that meant that her father’s true killer was still out there…


The room was dark and shadow, with several crevices along the wall. Had it been possible, that night long ago, that someone had hidden in the shadows as Link was dragged away? More and more the idea seemed credible to Zelda. She could still not bare to fully believe Link’s claim, and yet-


The door to the stairway opened gently, yet it still caused Zelda, who was standing by the window, to whirl around on the spot. Grand Vizier Rome let the door shut behind him. His face was like stone, and when he spoke, his voice was contorted with rage.


“Say what I have been told is a lie,” he said.



***
Well well, finally picking up some steam here, writing wise. We're entering the next act, I suppose you could say. Thoughts so far? Disappointments? Things you did not expect?

---

"Long live impudence. It's my guardian angel in the world." --Einstein

Tom

Great chapter as always. Talky after fighty, always good combo.

---

Darkinght Link

i just wanted to say great story wrath, i`ve been reading this story for the last couple of days and i think its the best story i`ve read in ZP

MaLink

I agree with the previous statement!


Three lovely-awesome chapters for me when I get back from vacation. I love you, Bobbo. I can't tell you how much I enjoyed reading these-- plot twists, clever dialogue, SUSPENSE, ho**** it's so great.

*rolls around in glee*

Edit:

I'd also like to mention that your HoC advertisement is ****ing awesome as well. Great job, firecheetah. <3 <3 <3

---

Wrath Mania

Thank you very much for the comment, Darknight! I appreciate you taking the time to read the story, and glad even more you've enjoyed it.

Same for the rest of you, of course.

And now...


Chapter Thirty-Five: Fall From The Tower

The late night rain was still lashing the walls of Hyrule Castle. The conditions were bad enough that any of the guards along the gates and castle grounds were limited by poor visibility. Therefore it was hardly surprising that not one of the guards doing the graveyard shift in the courtyard noticed the movement along the outer wall of the castle perimeter as something seemed to shift along the battlements, and nor did they notice as these shadows moved across one of the stone arcs connecting the outer wall to the actual castle, or when they stopped near a window and carefully opened it.


Raphael and Dexter slipped in with ease, but Dambora’s considerably larger bulk snapped the frame along the window. Raphael and Dexter looked back and forth along the shadowy corridor in which they had stumbled into, but fortunately no one was near, and apparently no one had heard the Goron’s noisy entrance. Relaxing slightly, Raphael dusted off his black tunic and turned to the others.


“You’re giving that Moblin bloke a run for his rupees, chief,” Dexter said as Dambora got to his feet.


“I’m better looking, my pint-sized brother,” said the Goron as he adjusted his sombrero.


“Alright, so any idea where they would keep Link?” Dexter asked as they began to walk to the right.



“Down,” Raphael said quietly as they crept down the corridor, “I reckon they would keep prisoners in the dungeons far below. I’m betting Link would be at the very bottom, probably high security.”


“Thanks,” Dexter replied, “so answer two questions for me, captain exposition: which way is down, and how are we going to get past ‘high security’?”


“We’ll make that up as we go along.”


“Oh, I was afraid you’d say that.” The scrub shook its head/body as they reached the end of the hall, which spilled out into a walkway overlooking the grand entrance hall. Raphael raised a hand, and the three of them stayed hidden in the shadows. The entrance hall was only lit by the massive chandelier hanging from the center of the ceiling, but Raphael could still see the mass amount of soldiers huddled on the floor.


“His Excellency wants constant guarding of the boy,” the leader was saying, and Raphael recognized Captain Baldwin’s voice immediately. “Holvestott and Tachanus,” he pointed at a pair of soldiers, one large and heavyset, and the other thin, “Go to the dungeons and assist who’s already down there. We will rotate every fourth hour. Understood? The rest of you, continue your normal duties.”


The group dispersed, and Raphael was happy to see that the plump and skinny soldiers were the last two leave, both of them bumbling towards an entryway on the opposite side of the hall. Following them would be the key to reaching the dungeons and Link, but unfortunately, a pair of guards had stayed to guard the main door from the inside, and there was no way any of them could get across and onto ground level without being seen. They needed a distraction.


“Dexter, think you can help here?” Raphael asked as he watched the two guards break into conversation. Dexter nodded and scuttled out onto the walkway, squeezing his snout through the bars.


“Did you hear about the new requirements put in?” one soldier was saying the same moment the Deku Nut fired from Dexter’s mouth.


“Yeah,” his partner said, “some of the other guys were telling me, it’s really, it’s really-,”


The nut exploded in the corner closer to the far soldier, causing him to jump back against the door. “What the hell was that?” he blurted as he stared into the dark corner from which the blast occurred.


“Dunno,” his partner said, equally startled, “Let’s check it out.”


The two guards peered over to the corner, cautiously leaning forward, where Dexter took the opportunity to shoot them both in the head. Both fell over, unconscious.


“Good enough,” Raphael said, “Now let’s get go before anyone notices.”


The three of them rushed down the main stairway and through the passage that the two soldiers had gone. The entryway became a hallway that was long and narrow. There was no sign of the two soldiers.


“We lost them,” Dexter groaned.


“No,” Raphael shook his head, pointing to another passage coming up on their right. Inside was a spiral staircase, eerily lit by torch brackets. It let downward. “I think it’s safe we can guess this one.”


And so they traversed the staircase, quickly but quietly, and it wasn’t long before they heard the muffled bickering of soldiers not far below them, making enough noise that they didn’t notice Raphael’s party on their tail.


“I’m telling you man, sometimes I think I have telepathy,” one of them was saying.


“Please, you don’t have the skills,” the other said, “But I hear the princess can do it.”


“How do you know, did she tell you?” Raphael could see them a story or two below them now. All they had to do was keep them in sight.


“Maybe she did,” they were nearing the bottom, “Let me tell you, I swore she was smiling at me at last year’s-,”


Dambora must have stepped on Dexter’s diminutive foot, because the Deku let out a terrible shout, followed by a few choice words before Raphael shoved a hand over his mouth. A dozen feet below, at the base of the stairs, the two guards had frozen.


“Who’s there?” The skinny one called out. There was silence, and for a second Raphael thought they would simply keep going.
Then, horribly, both soldiers started going back up the stairs.


“Go!” Raphael hissed, turning on the spot. But Dexter ran into Dambora’s leg, and the Goron, who was having enough trouble turning in such cramped conditions, lost his footing, falling towards Raphael. Raphael tried to get out of the way, but it was no use, and as they tumbled down the stairs towards the two guards.


Both soldiers began shouting at the top of their lungs, but neither could draw their weapons before the half-a-ton bulk of Dambora rolled them over, and everyone came to a loud crash on the cold floor. Raphael sat up right away. Both guards were out cold, but he could already hear the sounds of footsteps from guards inside the dungeons, coming their way.



Princess Zelda somehow found it within herself to keep composed as Rome slowly stalked towards her, his eyes piercing her with all the power and fright of the lightning outside the window behind her.


Deep down Zelda knew that eventually he would find out, and the walls of secrecy would come crashing down. Still, Zelda held her hands behind her back so Rome would not see them tremble as he struggled to say everything he had learned. The princess remained silent.


“I must know,” Rome whispered as he came up to Zelda, now just a foot away, “I must know this is a lie.”


Zelda still said nothing, and Rome suddenly yelled in a shrill voice Zelda had never heard from him before, “Tell me!!!”


She shut her eyes as if the words stung her as they reverberated off the walls. When she dared open them, Rome was still staring at her, breathing hard.


“It’s… it’s not,” Zelda said quietly, forcing herself to look back at him, “It’s true.”


Now Rome shut his own eyes as if Zelda’s words had been a slap to his face. When he opened them, it was a moment before he looked at her again. His eyes were now gleaming, and when he spoke, his voice quivered.


“You…you had touched the Triforce,” he said, dangerously soft, “yet you never told me about you or him. You… you are my lover. I trusted you.”


There was silence. Rome took a breath, and then spoke in a sharper tone.


“I am sure you are well aware of how important this quest has been to me? Have you privately had doubts about it?”


“I…” Zelda began.


“Perhaps you feel I am unworthy, as he claims?”


“I…”


“Or is this about you and him?” Rome leaned in, and Zelda edged backwards, grabbing the windowsill with her hands. “Perhaps have believed in him this whole time? Maybe you have been keeping even more from me? Like, is it possible you have known he has been in this contest the entire time? Is that it?”


It was this that caused Zelda to find her voice, strong and cold. “Yes, I’ve known it was him. Just like you did, and yet you never bothered to tell me, just so you had another contestant to add to your precious bloodbath.”


Rome went rigid, and the gleam in his eyes had turned to ice. “I thought you agreed it was the only way.”


“…I was wrong,” the words left Zelda before she could even consider her hesitations, “I would never have stopped you from your quest before, Rome. I managed to look away from the tournament at first, but as the body count rose, and I saw our people chant for carnage, how did you expect me to react?”


“You say you never would have stopped me,” Rome said vaguely, seemingly ignoring the second part of Zelda’s comment, “…you never would have stopped me. So you were content on just staying neutral, instead of actually supporting me? You were content to hide from me about you and the Triforce?”


“Rome, listen to yourself!” Zelda shouted, “You’re the one that has kept so many things secret from me! Don’t think I’m not aware you haven’t told me everything you’ve been up to. Your random trips to the desert, wherever you learned about the Versus Magna to begin with! You’ve been hiding these things from me from years, and you expect me to be content?”


Rome looked as if he was about to scream yes, but then he held his face in his hands. His actions were beginning to frighten Zelda. “I thought,” the vizier said in an icy voice, “That you trusted me…”



Link had been pacing hopelessly around his cell, desperately hoping to a miraculous way out. The five or six soldiers outside his cell occasionally paused to chuckle at his predicament as they continued to pace around, keeping tight check. Even if the bars suddenly vanished, there was no way Link could take this many soldiers unarmed.


Footsteps were echoing down the prison hall towards them, and the soldiers were looking towards the entrance. Link peered from behind the bars to see six more soldiers stopping before the present group. The new party was being led by a heavyset soldier and a skinny one, and their companions were carrying figures that looked as if they were in shackles. Link frowned at the sight of more prisoners.


“You’re the ones the captain sent?” the leader of the group that had been guarding Link said, and the thinner of the two guards nodded. “I was wondering when you would arrive. We heard about your little trip on the stairs from down here. What happened?”


“Intruders,” the skinny one said in a deep voice, one that did not fool Link like it had the first time he heard it, and he hoped none of the soldiers saw his face flash in surprise and amusement as he comprehended what had happened during the ‘little trip’. “These two were coming down the stairs after us. Fortunately we were able to subdue them before backup arrived.”


“Intruders in the castle?” the leader said, obviously concerned, “We need to alert the captain at once.” He motioned to the cell to the right of Link’s. “Put them in there. You two can come with me to report this. There are more than enough people down here for the moment to keep an eye on this scum.”


“Er… well,” the thin soldier said, “You see sir, his captain requested before we came down here that we transfer the warrior to the south dungeon.”


“I wasn’t notified,” the leader said slowly, “Furthermore…” He waved his hand, “I wasn’t aware a south dungeon existed.”


“Heh, you didn’t?” The soldier was backing up now, and all the other guards were now closing in on him and his large partner. “You should check it out sometime, it’s even gloomier than this.”


The leader walked up directly in front of the larger guard, eyeing his bulging armor and attire. “Do you have a speech problem, bub?”


Link saw his eyes widen in surprise from beneath the helmet when the large soldier replied in an inhumanly deep voice, “Do not call me bub, little man.”


The leader went sailing across the hallway, his helmet clattering nearby. The other guards drew their spears instantly, and scrambling around the two soldiers. The thin one had drawn a jagged dagger. There was a pause only for a second, and then the real soldiers charged.


It was only a few seconds before more soldiers went flying from the big one’s punches, a few of them right into the bars keeping Link on the sidelines, forcing him to jump back. The thinner soldier was quickly disarming the guards with his dagger, tossing it between hands as he stood back to back with his companion. One guard, already sprawled against a wall from an earlier blow, looked as if he was going to throw his spear at the smaller opponent. Before he could, something small and fast shot from beneath the helmet of the big one, hitting him in the face. The guard fell onto his side, stunned. Within a minute, all twelve soldiers were down.


The two victors turned towards Link, who smiled. “Not bad, a little messy for my liking, but it was fast.”


Raphael took off his helmet, frowning. “I knew you’d find something wrong.”


“Well, you look good in armor at least,” he looked at Dambora, “You on the other hand, are about to burst.”


Dambora’s helmet began to shake violently, and then it flew off his head. Dexter popped out of it, coughing.


“Gods that was unbearable,” the shrub choked before Dambora shook his body, and all the armor came off, raining down on the Deku, who was buried with a moan. Dambora raised his sombrero back onto his head, apparently oblivious.


“Now, the keys,” Raphael said, looking from knocked-out soldier to knocked-out soldier. “Which one had them, Link?”


“Uh,” Link hesitated, “I don’t know. I think Baldwin might keep them, to be-,”


“Stand back,” Dambora said, stepping forward, and Link instinctively moved to the back wall. Dambora grabbed two of the bars, and twisted. The entire frame gave in a few seconds.


“Clearly your royal family did not intend to imprison Gorons when they built this dungeon,” Dambora grunted as he threw the entire gate across the room, hitting a soldier who was about to lift his head.


Link stepped out of the cell and smiled at Raphael, “Not bad, kid. Not bad at all.”


“Reckless, though?”


“Yes, but I’m not complaining.”


“Oh, this is a bonding moment,” Dexter coughed as he struggled out of the armor, “But we really should get out of here before someone realizes half the Hylia Guard is down.”


“Right,” Raphael said, “Let’s get moving.”


“Not yet,” Link said, “We can’t.”


Everyone stared at him, imploring for an explanation, so Link said, “Zelda. Rome found out she hasn’t been honest with him. She’s in trouble.”


“The princess?” Raphael said, dumbstruck, “She doesn’t give a damn about you Link, why bother?”


“She’s in danger, that’s all that matters,” Link replied sharply, “I’m not leaving here without making sure Rome doesn’t harm her. Besides, the point was to stop Rome anyways, right?”


Raphael stared at him, and then nodded, “You’re right. Let’s do it.”


“Oh for Din’s sake,” Dexter spat, “You want to go find the princess and the vizier?! I suppose we don’t know where they are either, do we?”


“Up,” Link said, and ignoring Dexter’s swearing, he began to move for the stairway and said, “Come on.”


“Wait,” Raphael said, pulling something from the sheaths on his back, “We picked this up during the, ah, mayhem after the fight,” he handed Link the Gilded Sword, “thought you might want this back.”


Link grinned as he took the hilt in his left hand, “Good call kid. Now let’s go.”


The four made their through the dungeons, up the spiral stairway, and down the side hall to the entrance hall without incident. It was only when they reached the threshold of the entrance hall did Link hear the voice of Captain Baldwin shout “Freeze!” as lights went on all around the room, revealing countless soldiers around the doors and upper balconies. Baldwin was standing on the grand stairway, and next to him were too guards who were rubbing their exposed heads.


“Next time, do yourself a favor and hide the people you knock out,” Link muttered as the soldiers nearest them began closing in. “Drop your weapons,” Baldwin was saying, “Or we will use force!”


“Oh fine, we made one mistake,” Raphael snarled as he shifted the grip on his dagger, “It happens.”


“Looks like this is curtains for the Hyrule Four,” Dexter said as he rushed onto Dambora’s shoulders. From the stairs, Baldwin threatened to warn them only once more.


“Please,” Link said as he gripped his sword in both hands and began to raise it over his head. The soldiers were just a few feet away, “I’ve seen worse.”


“Well, you know what I say, brothers,” Dambora grunted as he flexed his arms, “The bigger the stage, the better it gets.”


“Hyrule Castle and going up against the entire Hylia Guard,” Raphael mused as he and Link got into the unmistakable postures of defense, “This is a pretty big stage.”


The guards waited for Baldwin to raise his hand, and when the captain did so, they raised their spears and charged. Link flourished, Raphael jabbed, Dambora swung, and Dexter spat. The battle was on.


The thunder was growing more intense in the window behind Zelda, and for a moment or two she swore the sounds were coming from within the castle. She was still too shocked by Rome’s actions to find a way out of the room, or to force Rome to relax. The vizier was opening and closing his mouth incomprehensibly. When lightning flashes, his eyes looked white as death; it was frightening.



“You met with him, didn’t you?”


Zelda did not respond, and so Rome slammed his hands on the windowsill, his face now boring over Zelda, causing her to crumple down. “Did you meet with him?! Did you meet with the man who has stood in my way, in our way, and talk behind my back?!”


Zelda shot back to standing straight, forcing Rome back a little. Then she cried out her response:


“Yes, I did! I’m tired of being kept in the dark about what you’re up to! I’m sickened by the horrible things your willing to make people go through to gain what you want. You’re going to commit murder just to open the seal!”


“He murdered... your father, and you’re defending him?!”


“He’s right! You aren’t worthy of the Triforce, and I’m not going to skulk on the sidelines any longer and let you-,”


Rome suddenly grabbed Zelda by the arms. His whole body was shaking, and his hair had becoming a mess, his eyes boring rage. His face was etched with lunacy. His voice was of fire and malice.


“Take back everything you said, now.”


Zelda, suddenly fearing a surge of fear, shook her head, and when Rome’s trembling began to cause her to shake, the princess suddenly found herself crying for help deep inside.



Link was not sure when he felt it. It might have been when he cut one of many soldiers’ spears in half as he and his three companions moved towards the center of the entrance hall, somehow keeping the endless droves of Hyrule’s best at bay, it might have been when one of his kicks sent a soldier falling back into his comrades, or it may have been when he and Raphael began fighting back to back, both blades spinning, but at some point, Link felt the feeling that he had last felt in what seemed like a previous life, the feeling of his mind being touched from afar.


When he did realize what he was feeling, it was so unexpected that he paused fighting, and Raphael was forced to jump in his way and slash out at a guard charging right for him, cutting deep into foe’s hand. “Link!” Raphael turned back to him as the guard fell to the floor, and Raphael was quickly occupied again, “What the hell?”


“Zelda,” Link said, still trying to regain thought as four soldiers surrounded him. “She’s in the north tower.”


“What?” Raphael cried, too busy to help, “How do you-,”


“We need to move,” Link said, his mind coming back to attention. He spun around, and the spears in the hands of all four soldiers were shattered. Thinking quick, Link looked above at the large glass chandelier, and then turned to Dambora, who was bashing two soldiers’ heads together while Dexter, jumping from shoulder to shoulder, was firing off an endless barrage of seeds and nuts. “Dexter!” Link shouted, “The chandelier!”


The scrub looked up at the chandelier, and as Dambora tossed aside another soldier, the Deku fired off a nut right onto the chain holding up the chandelier. One of the links creaked, and it began swinging dangerously. Some soldiers already began backing away.


“One more!” Link cried as he slashed out at another guard.


Dexter’s second shot resulted in a loud snap. “Move!” Link cried as the chandelier fell. He and Raphael dove for the wall, though the soldier Link had been dueling was not so quick, as the chandelier landed directly on top of him.


Link quickly got up. Baldwin was already shouting from the stairs for his men to get up, and more were pouring down from the balconies. The distraction hadn’t been long enough. “Leave it to me,” Dambora growled, and suddenly he grabbed Link in one hand and Raphael in the other. “Goron boost,” he said, jumping onto the chandelier.


Before Link could protest, Dambora flung him, Raphael and Dexter straight up into the air, beyond the reach of any spears thrown at them. Link flailed his arms out, managing to grab the chain from which the chandelier had been hanging from. Raphael grabbed it right below him, and Dexter was hanging onto his back. “Swing!” Link cried, “For the stairway!”


They began swinging back and forth. Baldwin continued yelling for more spears to be thrown, but his men either lacked aim, or they simply could not reach. Link felt the arc of their swing grow more and more. Below them, one soldier tried to jab Dambora. His spear bent into a right angle, and Dambora backslapped him to the floor.


“Now!” Link yelled.


The three of them reached an arc right above Baldwin, and then they let go, sailing over the captain, to the great doors behind him. Baldwin was about to shout instructions, but Dexter bounced off his head, taking time to spit right into his face before jumping after Link and Raphael. Before Baldwin could recover, the rolling blur that was Dambora curled up shot past, and Captain Baldwin lost his balance and fell over the railing.


Dambora sprang to his feet, and the four of them ran through the great door and towards a flight of stairs leading upwards, soldiers hot on their heels.


“Where do we go?” Raphael shouted as they darted up a flight of stairs.


“I know the way,” Link said without explanation. He had no time to explain, just like he had no time to explain how he had heard Zelda’s message. Because if it was as dire as it had felt to Link, then it was possible that it was already too late.



“Rome,” Zelda was pleading, still locked in his grip, the windowsill now pressing deep into her back, “what I said is the truth! You must listen to me! I’m telling what I feel because I love-,”


“Don’t even start!” Rome roared over the thunder, his face ghoulish, “You expect me to believe what you are about to say after all this? Love do you call it, being in league with Link? Do you think I’m a fool?!”


Rome spat as he yelled, and Zelda felt it hit her face, yet she did not look away, in fact it only gave her incentive to shout, “Yes! You’ve gone mad! All you care about is the Triforce! Why Rome? Why do you care about it more than Hyrule, or what is right, or me? You are obsessed with power!! When you sit on that throne now, all I can think of is Ganond-,”


Zelda cried out when she felt her head hit the glass. But then when she felt her body pressed wholly against the window, her neck in Rome’s hand, she had no breath to scream.


“You- you think- you dare,” Rome was saying, no longer looking human, “You have no idea. I’ve been doing this for you as much as me, and you have the audacity… the intrepidness… I…” Rome could no longer use words; he began to groan incomprehensibly, and his squeeze around Zelda’s neck tightened. The princess frantically tried to struggle against his grip, but she was pinned down, a few inches separated her from a fall to death… the same fall, she thought horribly in her fading mind, that her father took.


Zelda’s vision was beginning to go as Rome continued to press; she could no longer struggle, and it was when her eyes began to widen that for the first time she saw Rome’s mouth go slack, and his grip loosened...

…and then the door burst apart. Four figures swept the scene, and Zelda heard Link shout “Let her go!” before the entire entryway flooded with people, and then soldiers were upon them, and everyone was shouting, and Zelda, half-conscious, was barely aware of someone yelling “We’re trapped!”


Rome was thrown aside by the large Goron, who yelled, “Let’s ride!” And then Zelda felt herself grabbed by the Goron along with Link, a younger boy and a Deku Scrub, and she had no time to scream against it, because then the Goron jumped, jumped through the glass, and Zelda heard the crash, and then felt the rushing wind around them, and the rain, and she thought she heard thunder above them shout her name, and she managed to realize it was Rome’s voice before they landed along the battlements of the outer wall.


“Keep going!” someone shouted as spears rained down around them, and they were in the air again, hitting the lake directly north of the castle with a splash, and Zelda thought she heard the gurgled sounds of the Goron protesting, because of course, Gorons couldn’t swim.


And then everything went black.






***

I so had Hyrule Castle Theme playing while writing this chapter.

---

"Long live impudence. It's my guardian angel in the world." --Einstein

MaLink

I was having to force myself to slow down my reading because I was getting so excited about the story I was skimming along to see what happened next.

My verdict: HOLY **** I LOVED THAT CHAPTER.

I couldn't help but feel for Rome though-- even though I hate the guy and think he's horribly evil and not even cool... I could understand his angst at being betrayed in his madness. I bet he regretted it, too.

Also, love the foreshadowing you did with the telepathy conversation. It was so subtle. And the title-- I expected Zelda to die, but the fact that they all jumped through the window was awesome.

---

symuun

That was mega. I greatly enjoyed it. Rome is fantastic.

---