"Yes general?" they all asked.
"Do you have any rope?"
Each soldier nodded. They pulled a line of ten or so feet from their backs and held it out for the general. "We keep it with us at all times in case this kind of situation happens."
"Good," Link said, and pointed to the boulders that were already rolled up to the edge. "I want you to have every soldier tie their ropes together in lengths of one hundred feet."
"How many ropes do you want, General?" one of the soldiers asked.
"One for each boulder," he ordered. Then he turned to the cliff edge.
Impa looked at him. "I'm impressed, General," she said. "Your ability to lead your army continues to amaze me, and so does your innovation."
He often took advice from her, as she had more experience. She had been the general before him, but when Zelda's father decreed that women couldn't hold a post that high in their military, Link had to step up. When the king died and Zelda took rule, she changed that law, but she let Link stay in his place as general. He had done very good things in that post, and Impa wanted her to keep a commander. She had already had suspicions that Link could be the Hero of Legend, and she wanted to keep him in command, just in case. Lana had been so delighted when he received the news of his promotion. He proposed to her the night of his dubbing. He missed her; he missed her long blue hair, her petite curves, her sapphire smile, her light footing, her violet eyes, her personality, but he missed her soothing presence the most, and her love.
"General!" A soldier was at Link's side. "The ropes have been tied together and have been looped around the boulders. We suspected that was your intention."
"Yes," he said, nodding quickly, "it was. Start the descent down the cliff, if you would."
The soldier dashed off to the boulders, and soldiers at the other boulders began sliding down the ropes. Link hoped they had gloves on; rope burns were very painful. When all the soldiers had descended, Link, Sheik, and Impa slid down. Link landed gently on the ground and wiped his hands off, brushing off the sticky residue from the ropes. He turned to his soldiers.
"I want those boulders down!" he shouted out, and about twelve soldiers went to each rope and started pulling. One group had bad luck, as the rope fell apart, but all the others were successful, and the boulders crashed down to the scree of the cliff. The soldiers were quick to get out of the way, though, so they weren't crushed by the massive stones.
"Get those ropes off, and let's move out," Link ordered, and the soldiers started untying the ropes, handing them to random soldiers. When the ropes were removed the army headed out, and Link felt a tingle in his spine. He spun around, drawing his sword in the process, and slashed the air behind him, cutting down a Stalchild.
Impa stepped back, and pulled her Naginata from her back. More Stalchildren appeared, and Link shouted to his soldiers. "Ambush!" The soldiers quickly drew their weapons, and began hacking down Stalchildren. Link slashed and stabbed his way through several of them and found himself at the center of his army, which was growing smaller as more Stalchildren came. Sweat poured from his brow, and he was soon surrounded by Stalchildren. He did not give in, but he could see that his numbers were dwindling. If he wanted to survive, he would have to get out of this mass of bones and find the summoner of these monsters. He spun his blade around, cutting down a few Stalchildren, and thrust his blade into the ground, sending a shockwave through it. The Stalchildren near him either vaporized or flew away from him. He dashed from his position and spotted a large purple robe fighting Impa. He furrowed his brow, and sprinted over to them.
He leapt into the air and brought his blade down on the robe from behind, but his blade passed through it. It vanished, and then it appeared next to him. He looked at it from the front and saw that it had two large red eyes, a huge pair of red lips, and long brownish black arms with two blue and red rings on each hand. Impa lunged at it, and Link slashed his blade at it. It held its hands up, and a protective shield arose between them. Link continued to hack at the shield until the robe-wearing shadow shot out a blast of energy that penetrated the shield and slammed into Link. Link’s body twisted and contorted, and he dropped his weapons. His body began to morph, and soon shadows filled his blood and breathed through his lungs. His skin grayed, and his clothes blackened. He snapped his fingers, and a large black broadsword appeared in his hands. He let out a roar and lunged at Impa.
Impa deflected the attack and swept her feet under Shadow-Link’s, tripping him to the ground. Sheik turned when she heard the roar and dashed over to them, cutting down Stalchildren in her way. She jumped into the air as Shadow-Link stood back up. She kicked him in the chest, knocking him to the ground. He scrambled to his feet and swung his broadsword at Sheik, who blocked the attack with her Kunai. She twirled around his sword and leapt onto his back, wrapping her arms around his neck, choking him. When he fell back, she leapt into the air and landed lightly on her feet. She sheathed her Kunai and picked up the White Sword. She thrust it into Link's chest, and he shrieked, causing the robe-wearing shadow and its army to disappear. His body returned to normal, and his chest remained unharmed. He panted for breath, and Sheik stepped off of his chest. She grabbed his arm and hauled him to his feet.
"Link? Link, are you okay?"
He nodded and collapsed to his knees. He took a deep breath, and Sheik handed him his sword, which he sheathed. He picked up his shield and hooked it to his sheath. He looked up at Sheik and Impa, who had intense looks of concern on their faces.
"What happened?" he asked.
Sheik sat down and crossed her knees. She turned her head and looked at him curiously. "Link, you turned into something else. When that shadow hit you, you transformed into a monster, a monster we all have locked inside us. Fortunately, your monster—or shadow—was defeated easily."
"How did you do it?" he asked.
"I stabbed you in the chest with the White Sword."
"Then why am I not bleeding out?"
"Because your shadow is a different person. You didn't get stabbed; your shadow did. When I stabbed you the White Sword killed that monster, using the gift of light."
"Is it gone for good?"
"No, it could be revived easily by a bolt of dark magic."
"Like the one I was shot with?"
"Yes."
"Okay…It makes a little sense now." He stood and looked at his army, or what was left of it. He put his hand to his mouth and silently counted the remaining soldiers. Seventeen. He didn't shout this time. "Okay guys," he said to the group of soldiers, and Impa and Sheik. "We were just ambushed. We learned new things about our enemy. It may look grim right now, but we can make it through this journey."
"I am sending a request for reinforcements," Impa said. "There is a small army at Lake Hylia, and we can rendezvous with them at Faron Woods."
"If we get there," a soldier muttered.
"I heard that!" Sheik snapped. "Now, as my comrade was saying, things may look grim, for now. We will be receiving reinforcements." She waved her hand to Impa, "And Impa will be claiming the Triforce of Power soon, so our quest will be one-third complete!"
The soldiers sighed and sheathed their weapons.
"Look," Impa said, and pointed forward to a cliff. On it was a huge temple made of gold and rubies. "The Temple of Power!"
Link and Sheik smiled. They were close.
***
Volga watched from the roof of the temple as the heroes talked, and then one pointed toward him. He froze, fearing they had seen him, but the Hero of Legend pumped his fist and started talking to his pitiful group of soldiers. Volga didn't think they could see him. He vanished into the temple where he would continue to wait.
***
Cia finally smiled. "Good," she said to Wizzro. "You succeeded, for once."
"Yes," Wizzro hissed, trying not to be annoyed with Cia. "I shrunk their armies’ numbers and showed them their weakness."
"You did, and they know they are close to the Temple o
f Power. You know, Wizzro, if Volga fails, it will be up to you to stop the heroes at Faron Woods."
"Yes. I do think that Volga will be powerful enough to stop them by then, though."
"He may be, but he has failed me several times already."
"Yes, he has, hasn't he?" Wizzro said, and vanished form Cia's sight. She turned and cackled. The hero would be hers any time now.
Ch.7.
Link, Sheik, Impa, and their tiny group of soldiers dragged their feet against the dust as they headed toward the Temple of Power. They all felt tired. Sheik's pep talk was wearing off, and they were about to collapse when the ground started to rumble, snapping them into focus. They looked toward the mountain and saw it start to rupture, and they turned to look at one another with looks of concern before turning back to the volcano. Lava was pouring out the top, and the sides began blowing out huge chunks of rock. Before they could run, it exploded.
BOOOOOOOM!
The entire volcano flew into the air in the form of gigantic chunks of molten rock and lava. Ash filled the sky and started to fill the Hero's lungs. Lava was raining down, and a soldier cried out in pain as a glop of molten lava fell on his head, instantly melting his skull and dissolving his head. The group ran, each trying hard not to get hit by glops of lava or chunks of rock. Link glanced over his shoulder and saw that lava was racing toward the cliff edge at alarming speed. Soon the cliff became a waterfall of lava and continued its trek toward the group. Link was wishing now that they had their horses, which they had left behind in the caves. Link looked upwards as a screaming burst of wind went through his ear, only to see a chunk of rock fly down on him.
***
Cia bit her nails as she watched the Hero fall. If he died here, it was over and she would never have her love with the Hero of Legend. She thought for a second and then put her palms together. They grew apart as a sphere of purple energy grew in her hands. She tossed it through the dimension portal and watched it consume the Hero. She looked over at the others, who were struggling to avoid the lava and rock. The mysterious one, Sheik, stopped and shrieked when she saw Link consumed by the darkness. The other one, Impa, grabbed Sheik’s arm and pulled her along.
Cia heard a thump behind her and turned around. The Hero was lying before her, unconscious. She knelt next to him and caressed his cheek lightly; she kissed his forehead and considered waking him. NO! It wasn't the correct time. She needed the Triforce, and the man had it right here for her to take, but it couldn't be taken unless she killed him. She would wait until he awakened at the Temple of Courage, then she could take it from him without killing him. Yes. She would have to wait. She gritted her teeth and snapped her fingers, healing the Hero's injuries and sending him back to his dimension.
***
Link woke on a very large rock. He rolled onto his stomach and viewed the area. Boy, is it hot! The entire area was filled with lava, so much so that the cliff that the Temple of Power was sitting on was equal to the level of the lava. He looked for Sheik and Impa but saw no sign of them. He pursed his lips and stood up. He looked all around, and still no sign of the two. The rock he was standing on was next to a bridge of hardened lava. He jumped onto the bridge, hoping it would stay solid, and ran down the bridge to the Temple of Power. Maybe they were there. He hopped onto the cliff and dashed over to the entrance to the Temple of Power. He looked behind him and then hurried down the stairs to the Temple.
***
Two hours before…
Impa hopped over the stones to the cliff. She landed roughly, kicking her feet out and dragging her hands in the dirt, scraping her hands and skittering dust and rocks down off the cliff and into the lake of Lava that had formed a little while after the eruption. The air wasn't completely clear yet, but the levels of lava and ash in the air had dropped significantly. She stood up and wiped the dirt from her hands. She was lucky she hadn't been buried by ash, and if Sheik hadn't raised that protective barrier, they would have been melted by lava and then buried by ash. Lucky for them, though, Sheik had put her hands up raising a bubble of protection around them. The ash had coated the exterior of the barrier, and the chunks of molten rock bounced off like an arrow bouncing off of a shield.
Sheik had stayed behind to search for Link, and Impa had gone forward to the Temple of Power.
Impa didn't see any sign of their army, and she wasn't liking their odds. The army that Impa had sent for wouldn't be rendezvousing till they arrived at Faron Woods. If they got there…
Impa entered the Temple of Power and jogged down the stairs.
***
Sheik looked frantically around the area, scanning for any sign of life. She prayed so hard to the goddesses to keep Link safe…if the general died and the Triforce of Courage was lost, Hyrule's hope of defending itself was lost. She leapt from the stone she was standing on and landed gently on her feet, hopping over the rocks to the cliff. There was no point in waiting here;i Impa needed help in the Temple of Power.
Shiek jogged over to the entrance and headed down into the Temple of Power.
***
Impa reached the bottom of the stairs; they weren't nearly as long as the ones in the Fire Temple. She jogged over to a door that was parallel to the stairs. She pushed the door, but it wouldn't budge. She frowned and looked around the room. If there aren't any switches in the room, how can I open the door? She put her hand on a huge rock and tried pushing it. The switch may be underneath it. It wouldn't budge. She kicked the rock and paced around the room. She smacked her hands against her belt, and her hand brushed against the Cane of Pacci. She perked up and whipped it from her belt. She swung it hastily at the rock, and the beam of magic that shot from it smashed into the rock, lifting it into the air and away from the switch it concealed. Impa smiled lightly and hooked the cane back on her belt.
She stood on the switch and heard a 'click' in the doors. She walked over to the doors, and pushed them open, finding success this time. She was in a chamber the size of the room before this. She explored the area, looking around for a clue as to what to do. The only thing she found was a big stone that was attached to the ground, preventing the Cane of Pacci from being able to flip it. She heard the doors open behind her, and she whirled, pulling her Naginata from her back. Sheik stood in the doorway.
"Good of you to show up," Impa said. She turned back toward the room. She heaved herself against the stone, and it started to crack away from the ground. She pushed harder, and the stone disconnected from the earth. She looked up and saw three panels open up in the walls. The one to her left, parallel to Sheik's position, was out of the question for now. It was massive—about ten feet tall—and each door was about five feet wide. The door was made of gold, like the others, but it was covered by four golden chains that came together at the center of the door in a huge lock the size of Impa's head. The one in front of Impa, to the left of Sheik, was unlocked, and so was the door parallel to it.
"Should we split up?" Sheik asked.
"Yes, that may help us get through here faster," Impa said, and went through the door on the left. Sheik went right.
Impa found herself in a long room. She was standing on a balcony-like platform, viewing the room. If she hopped down, she would find herself at a bridge covered in spikes. After the spike-bridge was a square platform, which had two bridges extending from it. The doors to the left and right were open. There was a large gear attached to each corner of the platform; they were each facing the left or right, and thick cables locked the gears up. The cables went across the length of the bridges and through the walls into the next room. Impa hopped down off of the platform and pulled the Cane of Pacci from her belt. She swung it at the bridge, and it flipped over, revealing a smooth path to walk across. She hooked the cane on her belt and walked to the right bridge. She crossed and entered the room.
The cables continued down this room and stopped at a gear on each side of the room. There were bomb flowers at the platform across the room from her, and she could see that she
would probably be able use them to destroy the gears attached to the platform. For now, though, she tried to focus on the task at hand. In front of her was a row of flames shooting from two pipes hooked onto the platform edge. She waited for the flames to dissipate, then she passed through this obstacle. She found herself at the foot of a large column. There was a switch on top, and the sides of the column were too smooth for her to climb.
She looked around and found three levers to her right. She pulled the first one, and two metal rods extended from the column. She grabbed the one that was above her head and pulled herself up. The top of the column was still too far from her reach. She gritted her teeth. If she left and pulled another lever… She dropped down from her perch and pulled the second lever. Two more rods extended, but the one that she had just used pulled back in. She pulled the third lever, and one more rod extended out, pulling two more rods in. She pushed the first lever forward, and all rods extended out, creating a path for her to walk up and then pull herself up to the top. She carefully hopped form rod to rod, and when she reached the last one, the top of the column was in her reach. She pulled herself up and pressed the switch. A bridge extended from the platform the column was on and attached itself to the platform with the gears. She leapt off the column and walked across the bridge. She pulled one of the bomb flowers and set it down next to the gear on the right. She then picked another flower and set it down next to the other gear. She raced away from that platform, and the bombs exploded, turning the gears to shrapnel. The cables snapped, and she could hear a screeching sound from the main room. She ran from the room she was in and found that the right gears in the main room were no longer attached to the cables; they were free to move. She went to the left bridge and pushed the doors open. She was greeted by a blast of heat. The cables in this room spiked upwards to a platform near the ceiling. The two gears were attached to that platform. The platform was held up by metal beams fifty feet high that were sticking out of a lava pool. She stood on the edge of the pool and had no way to get to the gears. She suddenly perked up, and pulled her Naginata from her back. She swirled it in the air, and flames gathered in front of it. She thrust the Naginata at the metal beams. The flame surrounded the beams and begun to heat them. Impa kept swirling her Naginata, and kept it pointed at the beams, after the first had reached the color of tomatoes.