a lesson in betrayal (pant pant)

[Master Annoyer of the void!!]

Ganondorf laughed. "Heh heh, you think you’re so tough that you can defeat my minions so easily, but you don’t know who you are playing with here. I am Ganondorf, dark lord of evil, and you, are now DEAD!" Lunging forward, Ganondorf drew his blade and attacked the leader. The leader caught the blow high in the air with his sword, and quickly countered with a thrust from the right. Ganondorf barely deflected the attack, and had to immediately block another slash from the side as the leader recovered and attacked again and again.

The leader forced Ganondorf back further, keeping him solely on the defensive, not letting up at all. From Harkinian’s viewpoint, it seemed that it was taking Ganondorf everything he had to just stay alive. Then, with all his strength, Ganondorf made his move. Throwing all his weight into his sword, he deflected the leader’s blade high off to the right.

"Now you die!" he yelled. Drawing one hand away from the hilt of his blade, Ganondorf released a blast of intense magic energy, point blank at the leader’s chest. Effortlessly, the leader smacked the energy blast away, batting it high into the air to disappear into the clouds.

Ganondorf didn’t even have time to think before the leader slammed his foot into his stomach, sending him flying high into the air. Before he hit the ground, the leader shot an orange energy blast of his own from his armored gauntlet. The blast connected with Ganondorf’s midsection and sent him to the hard ground. The other two warriors stood at the leader’s side, having easily dispatched of Ganondorf’s remaining forces. Ganondorf looked up at them from the ground, dazed and in shock. Blood dripped down his face and he held his right arm, wincing in pain.

"Who are you?" he demanded, breathing hard. The leader laughed.

"It appears that you don’t know whom it is you are playing with here," the leader retorted, using Ganondorf’s own line back at him. "If you know what is good for you, you will refrain from interfering with the missions of Kerah."

Ganondorf wisely took that time to escape, vanishing into the air with his teleportation magic. The three warriors turned around to be greeted by a mass of cheering Hylian troops.


<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>


Stebos’ words interrupted Harkinian’s thoughts. "I assume that you also remember the promise you made that you would return the favor in any way that you could, do you not?"

"Yes, I do," Harkinian answered.

"The time has come where I must ask your assistance on an issue of grave importance to me."

"Just ask. Hyrule is forever in your debt for helping us in our time of need," Harkinian said, thinking he would regret those words very soon.

"I have fallen to a rather precarious situation, one that is beyond my power to control."

This can’t be good, Harkinian though to himself. I don’t think I want to know what he wants… "How can Hyrule be of assistance?" the king found himself asking. "We have long awaited the time when we can repay you for your acts in the Power Wars during the Ganondorf episode. Hyrule will do all it can to show how much your assistance was appreciated."

"I sincerely thank your generosity, Harkinian," Stebos said. "I have fallen into war with two countries, and I cannot defend my territories for much longer."

"For their forces to be threatening you, these must be major powers in the world. Do you believe Hyrule’s assistance will do any good?"

"Oh, yes they will. The forces I am up against are armies with the same capabilities as yours. Yes, they are versed in magic and sorcery, but that should be no problem. Their leaders are what threaten me, but once their armies have been put down, I will deal with them personally."

Harkinian remained skeptical, but attempted to hide it. "Exactly how long would you need to "borrow" our forces? And how many?"

"Oh, I would say five thousand would do, for about a month. I really am not asking much. Once the opposing armies have been eliminated, the task will be done and I will return them to you. If it weren’t for the fact that I am being attacked by two countries at the same time, I wouldn’t have needed to ask you for this."

Harkinian thought for a moment. For what Stebos seemed to be up against, a mere five thousand men was nothing to ask. The general populace of Hyrule would also support the effort. Memories of the Great War still lingered in their heads, and the arrival of Stebos had given hope back to the country. However, there was much that the country didn’t know about the man…


<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>


"I would like to officially thank you on behalf of the citizens of Hyrule for helping us in our time of need, Lord Stebos," Harkinian said. Assembled in the throne room were Harkinian and assorted generals and others of high rank. Stebos had introduced his companions as Marcus and Jenove. They had been on a mission from Kerah that required them to cross Hylian lands.

Stebos was a tall, well-muscled warrior. He stood in front of Harkinian in full armor. His companions had removed their helmets, and held them tucked under their arms - Stebos had left his on. The companions were both equals to Stebos in muscle and stature, the one to his left having jet-black hair with other one having brown hair, with strands of gray mixed in.

Ignoring Harkinian’s words, Stebos rudely asked his companions, "Why are we wasting our time here? The mission is more important than this." Marcus, the one with the brown hair, answered in a hushed tone.

"I believe it is advisable to meet with them. We have done them a great favor, and they wish to thank us for it. You never know when you may need a favor someday, and it is always good to have those out there that who owe you."

"I don’t think these fools will ever be useful to help me," Stebos snidely retorted, just loud enough so that only those closest to him could hear, including Marcus, Jenove, Harkinian.

Harkinian frowned. The reception of the new heroes was not going very smoothly. "We would just like to show our appreciation…" he tried again. Stebos remained silent.

"It was our pleasure," Marcus stepped in. "We…" Marcus was immediately cut off by Stebos.

"We would love to stay and chat, but we have more demanding concerns right now. Let me see how this goes then…ah, we did you a favor, and now you owe us one, right? Good, now that that is understood, we must be going now." With that, Stebos turned and walked from the room. Marcus and Jenove looked at each other, and then followed their leader out.

"I don’t think we will be hearing from them again…" Harkinian muttered under his breath as they exited.


<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>


Now, that very same man sat in front of him, asking for his help. However, his attitude, or at least manners, had changed greatly since their last meeting. He had even entered the castle with his helmet off. Had he really changed, or it was the entire thing just a front just to get what he wanted? As much as he tried, Harkinian couldn’t get a read on the man.

"Well," Harkinian started, "Hyrule is happy that we will finally be able to repay your kindness you showed us those many years ago."

"I am happy that you agree to help us," Stebos replied. "However, I need to return to my lands to over see the war efforts as soon as possible. When can I expect your troops to arrive?"

"They will leave tomorrow morning. It will probably take the better part of a month for them to arrive in Kerah, though."

"That is not a concern. I have methods that will be able to get your troops there many times faster. I will leave one of my companions behind to lead your forces to my lands for if you move your forces across Kerah, you will likely find a most unpleasant surprise. For you see, things have changed over the years. The leaders of Kerah have shown themselves to be…unpopular, to say the least. I have offered the people of Kerah another way, a way they have followed willingly and with great relief. You see, my war is for territory, and Kerah is the enemy. We fight them, and we also fight the kingdom of Gailins."

Harkinian nodded, simply for a lack of words. He hid his surprise at the news the best he could. "Well then, god-speed to you and your people," he managed to say.

Stebos stood up from the table. "Thank you, Harkinian." Turning, he walked toward the door and left.

…………………………………………………………………………………..…………..

"Is that man gone now?" Zelda asked, poking her head into the room.

"Yes he is," Harkinian answered.

"Good," Zelda replied, seemingly relieved. "Who was that man?"

"That was Stebos Darkedge. He helped us in the war against Ganondorf, years ago, when you were very little."

"I know," Zelda answered. "I remember…"

"What?" the king exclaimed, surprised, "You were barely six months at that time! Did you recognize his face after all those years?"

"No," Zelda answered," I didn’t even see what he looks like today because I was too afraid to look, but…I remember…I remember that power. I could feel it coming back today." Zelda turned to her father. "I don’t like this…I don’t like this at all…"

"Neither do I, Zelda," her father agreed, "neither do I."

[Master Annoyer of the void!!]

"So here’s a recap of the battle plan," Favar started, pointing to the map. It was yet another mid-afternoon in Gailins, back in the throne room, which that apparently doubled as Favar’s personal military operations study. The white afternoon light shone brightly in from the windows, and it carried along with it the fresh afternoon breeze that rustled the papers on the table. There were four figures standing around the table: Link, Favar, Nikkole – Favar’s second in command, and Lauren, who really wasn’t at the table, but exploring the throne room.

"So far, throughout this entire war, we have been defending against attacks on every encounter," Favar explained. "This will be our first offensive strike against the enemy. We believe that the enemy holds positions at Marshwood, a small town near the Gailinian and Kerahian border. Once we take that town, we will be able to move along down the river towards the Kerahian capital, Slaincore. However, that all rests on whether or not we can capture Marshwood."

Link raised his hand in question. He had sat through a morning full of meetings with Favar and his cabinet of military advisors, but he still didn’t know what his role in the overall plan was. "What is it that you want me to do during all this?" he asked.

"You have a very special role in this mission, Link." Favar answered. "Nikkole will explain."

Nikkole stepped forward to the table. A little younger than Favar, he stood a few centimeters taller than Link. His orange hair had the same style as Favar’s, but was just a bit longer on the top. He wore a similar outfit as the king too. His vest was a light yellow, and the shirt under it was a startling bright orange, matching his hair. Though his clothing covered his body, Link could tell that there were sculpted muscles hiding under the fabric.

His sword hung at his right side. A lefty Link noticed. From what he could tell by the sheath, the blade was a wide broadsword – definitely not a decoration. Link didn’t doubt his ability to use it either. From what Link figured, he was probably a very respectable warrior. Nikkole noticed Link sizing him up and smiled.

"Link," he started, snapping Link’s attention back to reality, "after every battle, the opposing force always sends out a messenger back to their headquarters. It is your mission to find the messenger and follow it back to their base. Once you are there, I am sure you will find proof on whom the attackers are. Once you are finished, report back to rendezvous point B. Then you will be given the opportunity to travel back to Hyrule and report your findings. Hopefully then, that will be enough to convince King Harkinian to send us aid."

"Ok," Link said. "I understand. And how do I recognize this messenger?"

Nikkole answered. "The messenger will be the only meridian knight on horseback." At that moment, the doors to the room opened, and four other Gailians walked in. They wore what looked like military uniforms.

Link turned back to Nikkole and Favar. "That clears things up, thanks." The four officers made their way to the table, glancing at Link briefly.

"Your majesty," the one in the middle said. "Here are the latest reports from the front lines at Macon and Jackson." He proceeded to place the papers on the table, but was startled by a tremendous crash that came from the back of the room.

An old suit of armor fell into view from behind one of the pillars. Embarrassed, Lauren peeked out from behind the stone column, his face a bright red.

"Uh, sorry, I was just looking at the, and he, yeah…his…umm…" he stuttered, turning to look at Favar. "Umm, yeah…am I in trouble?" Even though an air of extreme seriousness permeated the room, the group burst into laughter. Lauren looked on, bewildered. "Uh…are you guys ok?"


~*~*~*~*~*~


"I just don’t know how to read this," Harkinian admitted. It was late, and he was discussing the current predicament with General Carley. Harkinian had also asked Zelda to sit in on the meeting. "From the last we ever knew, Stebos was serving the kingdom of Kerah. Now he says he is an "independent" fighting against Kerah and Gailins both. I don’t understand."

"I don’t believe we should be helping this man," Carley interjected. "He is obviously a renegade warlord hungry for territory. We don’t know if he is trying to form his own kingdom, or take over the other ones, or even possibly perform a military coup. We should not be extending aid to help a radical revolution in countries a hundred of kilometers away from here. It just doesn’t make sense, and we should not be getting involved."

"But I gave my word…" Harkinian started.

"Oh enough of this ‘I gave my word’ nonsense!" Carley barked. If it were any other man, Harkinian would have dismissed them right then and there for lack of respect, but Carley was different. Sometimes not the most practical or economical, but his ingenuity and creativity on the field always seemed to pull Hyrule through the tough times. "This is war and men’s lives hang in the balance! Just tell him that we cannot help. This is not our battle."

"When a king’s word is not respected, neither will his reign be respected," Harkinian calmly countered. "Everybody knows about the great deed Stebos did for our country, and at the expense of five thousand men, I cannot afford to jeopardize the situation by breaking my word, and having the entire kingdom questioning my rule."

"I understand where you are coming from, but common sense will have to overrule this bureaucratic nonsense. You are putting Hyrule in a dangerous situation."

"And that is why I am sending you to oversee our forces." Harkinian answered. Zelda smiled. Her father always had the hidden card up his sleeve. "There is no one better to head this mission than you."

Carley opened his mouth to negate the situation, but Harkinian had backed him into a wall. Harkinian continued.

"You see, I know you and I know how you think. If you find out that there’s anything fishy going on, you may take it upon yourself to make the decisions that are in the best interests of Hyrule. I want to know exactly what the situation is over there."

"Fine," Carley gave, "but it want it affirmed that I feel that this mission may lead to the end of Hyrule."

Harkinian stifled a laugh. "General, I hardly believe that this could spell something that drastic of consequences." Harkinian looked up to see that Carley wasn’t joking. "Your statement has been duly noted." Harkinian said. "Dismissed."

"Thank you, your highness," Carley answered. With a crisp salute and an about face, Carley strode from the throne room and through the doors, shutting them on his way out leaving Harkinian and Zelda alone. Harkinian frowned.

"That couldn’t have gone any better," Zelda joked. Harkinian didn’t take to her humor, frowning even deeper.

"I just don’t know about that…" he wondered. "I hope he follows my commands…Carley’s always been rather liberal in his interpretations of orders…"

Zelda asked the obvious next question. "Then why are you sending him to lead this mission?"

Harkinian sighed. "Simply put, because he’s the best. His decisiveness and ingenuity more than make up for his unpredictability, and that is actually one of his traits that makes him good. The enemy never knows what is coming."

"But if you think that he may disobey your orders, why take the chance?" Zelda questioned.

"Because you will be there to make sure everything goes alright."

"Oh really?" Zelda mused, "This is the first I’ve heard of it."

"Yes, because you will also be there for another reason."

"Continue," Zelda said, intrigued.

"Just two days ago, I sent Link on a mission to Gailins to inspect attacks that were falling upon their land."

"I see…" Zelda started.

"It gets more complicated, trust me," Harkinian warned. "I promised Gailins that if they could identify their attacker, that we would mobilize to defend them. However, now that we know that the aggressor is Stebos, this leads us to a very tricky situation. Gailins claims they are being attacked and they don’t know who it is. They could be lying and are just trying to get us to take out Stebos for them. But then Stebos claims to be under attack by Kerah and Gailins both. So, if he is telling the truth, then Gailins is on the offensive side and not on the defense like they claim."

[Master Annoyer of the void!!]

Zelda held up her hand to get her father to stop talking before his speculations went too out of control. "I see," she said, "but I still don’t understand why I am going. You should just get one of your other Generals to over-see the mission."

"You must go because I cannot let the military know that Link is trying to help Gailins."

"So you are keeping secrets from your own military advisors now? I think I am starting agree with Carley about this bureaucratic nonsense." Zelda stopped to see her father frowning at her. She quickly dove for a change in subject. "Then what happens if they find out what Link is doing there, say, they get into a fight when he is there?"

"That’s why you are going. You’re the princess of Hyrule. That title carries some weight. If anything should go wrong, then order Carley to back down the troops. You do out rank him."

"I don’t like this," Zelda bluntly stated. "But if you think you know what you’re doing, then I’ll play along."

"Thank you, Zelda."


~*~*~*~*~*~


Morning was approaching. Silhouettes of armored troops marched down the wide road. Leading the army marched the pikes men, with their wooden spears held high against the pastel colors of dawn, waving back and forth with each step. Following them were the swordsmen and the archers. Riding follow-up were the mounted knights, trotting along on their horses. Behind them taking up the rear, rode Favar, his royal coterie, and Link.

"You will have to be weary when tracking the messenger knight, Link," Favar warned. "If it senses you following it, it will ride faster and try to teleport away. Then we will have no chance of finding it." Link acknowledged the words with a nod. "And watch out for anyone clad in orange armor. They are the Kerahian guard, and are not to be taken lightly. Being human, they don’t posses a meridian knight’s brute strength, but they have more control over magic, and are much smarter."

"I will look for them," Link stated, "and if I do indeed find the ones who are responsible, I will report back to you, and depart for Hyrule to alert Harkinian of your condition."

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Ranks upon ranks of Gailian troops marched by. They think they have it all figured out, don’t they, Jenove mused. It’s time to show them how wrong they are. He could see the ones he was waiting for through the trees as they drew near, mounted on horses. The mighty king of Gailins, the legendary Favar, will fall at my hands. A smile grew across the figure’s face. The time was now. Lurking out from the woods, he took aim.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"Thank you, Link, for all you are doing for my country," Favar spoke.

"It is my pleasure." Link answered. "I know the hardships that…" Link didn’t have a chance to get another word out.

A speeding orb of orange energy seared by his face from an unknown origin. The ball grazed Link’s cheek, burning his skin. Whipping his head around, Link followed its flight path. Everything seemed to go in slow motion from there. Link watched the energy homed in on its intended target.

It smashed into Favar’s upper torso, burning away at his armor. Link watched Favar’s face contort in pain as the attack smashed into his chest. He was lifted from his mount on the horse, and thrown hard to the ground. Link was stunned, as were all around him. Regaining some of his senses, Link turned back to where he thought the attack came from. Out of the corner of his eye, Link caught the sight of a sweeping black cape disappearing into the forest. As the cape melted into the shadows, a second threat emerged.

From all around, meridian knights grew from the forest’s shadows, seemingly growing from the earth itself. They marched to the edge of the wood, swords drawn and powered up so they were glowing with a dark light.

Still in shock, Nikkole, one of the mounted soldiers next to Link, took command. "The King has fallen! Fight for honor!"

Link launched himself from his horse, attacking the nearest meridian knight. Cutting it down, he performed a timely back flip to avoid the low slash from another enemy. In mid air, he charged up his sword, blasting the enemy in the chest, throwing it backward to the ground. It had been a while since he had been in battle, but Link easily settled back into his old groove of combat, and the meridian knights became just more stalfos and moblins to Link’s blade.

The Gailian troops had been broken from their state of shock. They were attacking the knights with swords and glowing orange arrows.

Running along the outside of the Gailian ranks, right into the fray, Link cut himself a path through the meridian knights with ease, slashing and spinning and flipping in a way that none of the Gailian soldiers could match. The meridian knights barely had time to react to Link’s presence. Some would have enough time to block an attack with their sword or shield, but none of them ever lasted past three of Link’s strikes. In his path, Link left a wake of burning meridian knights. However, his run was interrupted when he heard his name being called over the noise of battle.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Roe poked his head over the stout stone wall, prepared to form an energy screen if needed. Instead of the usual flying dust and smoke that accompanied a blocked meridian blast, he observed something he did not expect. He ducked back down.

"I don’t know what happened, Sommers," he reported to the soldier on the ground next to him, "but they are retreating for some reason." Giving Roe a look of disbelief, Sommers took a look of his own over the low wall. To his surprise, he caught sight of the last of the meridian knights fleeing to the west. Sommers quickly ducked back down.

"You’re right," he confirmed. "I don’t know why they are retreating, but I do know that means the messenger will be leaving now too. You know what we must do." Roe nodded and both men jumped from their positions behind the wall. Running past a small shed and a stone well, they stopped, their backs pressed to the wall of a short brick house. Creeping around to the side, Sommers poked his head out, still half-expecting an attack to fly from the trees at his face. No such attack came. However, the mission rode past his line of vision; the only meridian knight on a horse, galloping across the expansive field.

The interesting thing was, it was moving directly to the north, not west towards Gailins. No matter Sommers thought. Their objective was to follow the knight no matter what. North, South, East, or through the gates of the underworld, he would follow that messenger. However, if the knight got outside the energy bubble, it would be able to teleport away. That was something he could not permit to happen.

Roe and Sommers sprinted from the house to the accompanying barn. Immediately, the smell of hay bails and earth met his nostrils. Surprisingly, there were a number of horses still in their stalls. Sheathing his sword, Sommers darted to a rack of saddles against the east wall, tossing one to Roe, who immediately threw it on the nearest horse. Sommers grabbed one for himself and did the same.

Seconds later, the duo burst from the barn doors in hot pursuit of the lone meridian knight escaping to the mountains of the north. They raced across the empty plain, their flowing orange capes whipping about in the wind…

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Looking toward the call, he saw Nikkole shouting and pointing. He was pointing across the far field to the east. Visible against the backdrop of green forest, Link could make out a figure racing across the field.

At a closer look, two more figures could be seen, the leading one being a mounted meridian knight. All Link could make out of the other two was that they wore gleaming orange armor and flapping orange capes. Looking around quickly, Link eyed a horse moving off into the forest, its rider either abandoning it for the freedom of fighting on level ground, or for other reasons.

Link darted over to it as fast as his legs could carry him, cutting down two more meridian knights on his way. Sheathing his sword and slipping his shield over it on his back in one smooth movement, he launched himself onto the horse. Grabbing the reins, he tore off after the knight and its escort.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Link must have found the messenger knight! Lauren excitedly thought. Lauren erupted from his hiding place from deep in the trees. I know Link and the king told me to stay in the city, but this will be my chance to avenge Neilson and my family…what have I got to lose anyway now that I’m an orphan… A fifth figure joined the line of pursuers across the open field.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

This horse is never going to catch that meridian knight. The steed was obviously only used for farm work, and lacked the speed of a militarily trained horse. Sommers glanced up towards Roe, who was much further ahead. They both knew the rules of engagement; never get separated from your point man, but in the current situation, it didn’t look like there was much of a choice. Roe looked back at him. Sommers waved him to move on ahead. They would not be able to stay together and stop the messenger knight both.

I picked the wrong horse Sommers thought, as Roe furthered the distance between them, gaining slightly on the meridian knight. Sommers was so focused on trying to keep up he didn’t even notice the green warrior creeping up from behind him. It was a good thing that his enhanced senses allowed him to foresee the attack. He drew his sword and slashed violently backward up along his left side, deflecting Link’s blade.

[Master Annoyer of the void!!]

Using one hand, he brought his horse to a stop, blocking yet another attack from the mysterious green warrior in the process. Sommers glanced back at Roe’s progress, seeing that Roe had stopped his horse and was beginning to make his way back to help. Sommers waved him onward. He could handle this threat. Roe hesitated, then complied, taking off after the messenger once again.

With precise accuracy, Sommers raised his hand, sending a blast of orange energy right at his pursuer’s face, forcing him to abandon his steed and drop the ground in order to dodge. This will be fun Sommers thought. This guy can’t even defend against an energy attack!

"Who are you?" Sommers demanded, jumping down from his horse. This warrior was definitely not from Gailins. Wow, Sommers thought, first Stebos abandons us to join Gailins, and now they are digging up warriors from other places. "My colleague is up ahead, and you will not be able to stop him. He will have your messenger in no time, so why don’t you just run back to the protection of Gailins so you don’t get hurt here?"

"What are you talking about?" Link questioned. "My mission is to stop that messenger. Why do you want to stop your own man?"

"Stop trying to confuse me and fight!" Sommers demanded. The green warrior tried to protest, but Sommers launched himself into a furry of attacks. Orange rays of energy flew towards Link faster than any arrow could fly from a bow. However, Link knew how to deal with this.

Drawing his sword, he batted the blasts away. A combination of his many years of training, combined with his natural skill, allowed him to complete this near impossible task. He knew the minimum distance he needed to pivot his sword to intercept each blast, tilting it back and forth in precise, sweeping movements. Sommers ceased fire after watching the amazing spectacle. Apparently, he had underestimated the ability of his adversary.

Link smiled as the last of the blasts rushed toward him, smacking the final one back into Sommers’ face. With a swipe of his fist, Sommers knocked the speeding orange dart to the ground, where it exploded into a spectacle of light and dirt. Sommers smirked. "You have gotten my attention, stranger," he conceded. "What was it you were speaking of earlier?"

"I was wondering exactly why you are trying to hunt down your own messenger," Link answered, a smile creeping across his face too. Apparently he had impressed this foe.

"I’m afraid you are mixed up about this entire ordeal." Sommers laughed. "You see," he explained, "you are fighting for Gailins, and usually one does not make the error of mistaking his own messenger for another’s. If you have not yet been informed, Stebos and his fabricated army are working for you right now. That messenger is on your side.

Regardless, it will not be allowed to carry out its mission, and I fear that you will not be able to either." With that, Sommers launched another salvo of orange blasts at Link. This time, the blasts were more powerful, and much quicker. Link had a much more difficult time blocking them, but they soon stopped. Either Sommers was starting to deplete his energy, or he wanted to talk some more. The answer soon came, in the form of a shout from a familiar voice.

"Link! Get down!" Link turned around to see Lauren galloping in his direction on a horse. From his sword, he unleashed a massive yellow blast of energy, sending it straight towards Sommers. However, Link was standing right between the oncoming attack and its target.

‘Lauren! No!" Link called. Bringing his blade about, Link swung with all his might at Lauren’s attack. Link’s efforts were barely enough to alter the blast’s trajectory away from Sommers. Lauren was obviously more powerful than Link had been giving him credit for. Sommers dodged the wayward attack by fading left.

"Link!" Lauren cried as he rode up, "What do you think you are doing?!?" Once again, Lauren unleashed a blast at Sommers, again to be intercepted by Link. "Link!" Lauren protested. "You saw what they did to Favar! How can you defend him?"

"I would like to know the answer to that question as well," Sommers agreed coolly.

"I will try to explain," Link started. However, before he could begin, a piercing cry shattered the air. The three’s attention was diverted to its source. Off in the distance, near the tree line, Roe could be seen, slumped on his knees, holding his side. A troop of about five meridian knights stood around him, with the messenger knight off to the side, still mounted on his horse. It gave a satirical salute to the bickering trio, and vanished from sight as it left the energy bubble, teleporting away.

"NO!" Sommers yelled. Totally disregarding Link and Lauren, he mounted his steed, and tore off towards his fallen comrade. Link and Lauren both gave each other questioning looks, and then took off after him. Barely in the trees, but hidden from view, Jenove watched them approach. Fools he thought. I will finish you all later. With that, he made like the messenger knight, and teleported away.


~*~*~*~*~*~


The mission was a failure. The messenger knight had escaped, the Gailian forces, after the fall of their king, were forced to fall back to a defensive position, and Sommers’ partner, Roe, was dead, another victim of a meridian sword. Cautiously, the three warriors moved through the forest. Sommers and Lauren insisted they be as careful as possible, saying that the enemy was near. Link assumed they had some way of sensing the danger, but what was odd was that he could also vaguely identify a dark presence somewhere nearby. Maybe he could sense the meridian knights as well…or maybe it was just his warrior’s intuition.

The three spoke in a hushed whisper as they moved about the wood, leading their horses by the reigns.

"From what you tell me," Sommers continued, "you are saying that Kerah has been attacking you for the last three months, in the form of Stebos’ meridian knights?"

Lauren, still skeptical of the situation, acknowledged the question. "Yes, we know that it is the meridian knights that have been attacking us. From what you tell us, Stebos has defected, and joined us, and began attacking you for the past three months, right?"

"That is correct, kid," Sommers answered.

"Don’t call me that!" Lauren scolded.

"Yeah, right, kid," Sommers retorted. "You look like you’re fourteen. You shouldn’t be fighting in a battle like this. Did you see what those bastards did to my partner? He was one of the most powerful, talented warriors I ever knew. Even he fell; what chance do you think you have?"

Lauren was obviously miffed. "For your information, I am fifteen, and I’ve lost a mother, a father, a brother, and my last friend on earth, besides Link here, to those monsters! However, I have survived. That speaks for itself! And anyway, I have no where to go now! No family, no friends, no nothing! You think you’ve seen it bad, then try going through all this, and only being fifteen!" Lauren was on the verge of tears, and Link could tell that he was using all his strength to keep them from forming. "So when you go around telling other people their chances, you had better do a little more research!"

"Lauren," Link hushed, "We must be quiet. The meridian knights could be anywhere. We don’t even know where we are going." Link stopped walking. "However, we seem to be making some sort of progress here." He turned to Sommers. "So apparently, this Stebos character was attacking you when we showed up. From there, he retreated from the battle with you to attack us." Sommers nodded.

"That seems like the only reasonable explanation at the moment," he agreed. "Stebos is playing on the fact that both our sides think he’s working for the other side. He is a tricky warrior…"

Link slapped his leg in frustration. "Why does name sound so familiar?" he asked. "I can’t quite put my finger on it…"

[Master Annoyer of the void!!]

"Maybe because during the power crusades, he crossed your land in search of the third power crystal." Sommers offered. "I remembered when he came back, saying that he didn’t believe that there even was a third power crystal, like the legends say."

"That’s it!" Link exclaimed. Lauren and Sommers shushed Link to quiet down. "Sorry," he apologized, "but I just have had a realization. I read about this Stebos in the Hylian history books. He is the one who saved us from Ganondorf that one time."

"This puts a whole new light on the subject…" Sommers commented. Swiftly, he drew his sword and swung it around to Link. "It would make perfect sense to say that Hyrule is working with Stebos, helping him rob us of our power crystals! We know you hold the third power crystal somewhere in your land! You are helping him, aren’t you?"

"What?" Link gasped, staring at the sharp blade pointing at him. "No! We are not helping him! I was sent here strictly to help Gailins. Now that it has been found out that Stebos is both your enemies, Hyrule will help both your sides. My king promised to do so."

Lauren jumped between the two. "Stop that now, Sommers," he demanded. "Link is here to help us? Can’t you see that?"

Sommers smirked, returning his sword to his side. "Yes, I can see that, but a kid like you hasn’t had enough battle experience to look at this situation from any other angle."

Lauren was obviously becoming angry, either because Sommers was right, or he kept calling him ‘kid.’ "You don’t know what you are talking about," was all Lauren could come up with.

"Yeah, kid, whatever. You may have been through a lot, but you obviously haven’t ever experienced betrayal." Sommers stopped, allowing room for Lauren to say something, but the boy remained silent. "That’s what I thought. Stebos has committed treason of the highest order, and he must pay." Link noticed the shift in the subject. At least Sommers wasn’t the kind of guy who would keep beating the lesson into a poor kid. He was all business. "That Stebos, nobody knows his power better than I…"

Link asked a question that had been bugging him for a long while. "Why is this Stebos so powerful anyway? What makes him so much stronger than you or anybody else in this kingdom?"

Sommers stopped to think for a moment. He just shook his head. "No one really knows the answer to that question. He just kind of showed up in Kerah one day and got an audience with the king. When he came to us, he was extremely powerful, but over the years, he learned many new things, spells and abilities that we have never seen or heard of. Following his arrival, he quickly advanced up the ranks in the Kerahian military, until he became our head commander after creating a break through magic technique.

"He had somehow managed to find a way to create warriors by using his magic; the meridian knights you have already seen. It is a mystery how he learned to do this, but after leading Kerah to many victorious battles against Gailins without us losing a single man, he gained widespread support from our citizens. However, about four months ago, he abruptly turned on us. I was there…"


<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>


"You will hand over the crystal of Kerah to me, or I will take it from you. If you comply with my wishes, you will be allowed to live." Stebos was standing in the middle of the audience room, making his demands very clear to the king, who coolly remained seated on his throne.

Sommers, Roe, and six of the other elite royal guards stood positioned around the perimeter of the room. Things were taking a turn for the worse.

"Stebos, you must know that cannot be done. The kingdom of Kerah depends on that crystal to give us our strength. With out it, our land and our people will slowly die. I know you are aware of the consequences that will result in removing the crystal, so why must you do this? We have given you everything you ever wanted – even recovered your essence from the Sacred Realm when Favar cast you there, and now you…"

"And I have served you well because of it," Stebos cut in, "but now there is nothing you can give me that will satisfy my needs – nothing but the crystal of Kerah. You will hand it over to me now."

The king stood from his throne. "You know that cannot be done, and you also know that I will do everything in my power to prevent it."

Stebos laughed, "You know my ability better than anyone, Ramien. You must know by now that you are no match for me."

"You may be right, but I must try to stop you, for if you do acquire the crystal, then there may be no one left able to stand in your way…"

"Precisely," Stebos agreed. "That is exactly why I require it. This conversation is going nowhere. Since you will not agree to my demands, I will take matters into my own hands. I am taking the crystal from you now." Sommers waited for the king’s signal.

"I am sorry you feel that way, Stebos," the king regretfully admitted. "I thought that I had taught you better, but since I helped you to become what you are today, it is my responsibility to stop you!" Erupting from the throne, the king launched himself forward, with ninja-like ability, spinning about, throwing his heavy robe from his shoulders. He landed on his feet in a wide stance, his sword drawn and ready for battle. He wore a trim orange shirt tucked into baggy black pants. His layered orange hair flowed in the air as if there were a breeze in the room. However, Sommers knew that this was so only because the king was using his immense magic to power up his sword. "Let’s see just how well I have taught you!" Ramien shouted. "Guards!"

That was his cue. Sommers and Roe launched themselves at Stebos, along with half dozen other Kerahian guardsmen. Sommers attacked by unleashing his most intense blast of energy. The orange energy raced toward Stebos’ unguarded side. With a movement so fluid, it almost looked like a dance, Stebos blocked the blast with ease. The amazing thing was, he did the same for seven other attacks of the like, all with what looked like effortless motions.

The redirected energies shot back at their creators, and the two of the Kerahian guard were not fast enough to dodge were cut down by their own attacks. Sommers had jumped out of the way just in time, spinning laterally, high across the chamber to the other side. The renegade blasts tore through the stone room, smashing through the walls and the floor. Sounds could be heard as they continued tearing throughout the rest of the castle.

Stebos acted as if nothing had even happened, his gaze never moving from Ramien. Ramien also stood his ground, staring back with his cool gaze.

The remaining six guardsmen regrouped and launched another attack. Their swords drawn and powered up and glowing orange, they struck. At the last possible moment, Stebos drew his own weapon, blocking all of the strikes with his sword by only moving his arm. The rest of his body remained perfectly still, his eyes still fixed on Ramien. After all the guardsmen had made their passes, only four were left standing. Sommers and Roe exchanged worried glances. Stebos still stood motionless.

"You know," he spoke to Ramien, totally ignoring the guard circling him, looking for vulnerabilities. "Gailins will be pleased when I return with the Kerahian crystal." At this remark, Ramien lost some of his composure.

[Master Annoyer of the void!!]

"So, you have betrayed us?" he asked, lowering his sword a little, as if the news had sapped some of the strength from his body. "Are you working for Gailins now? Do you not have loyalties?"

A coy smirk possessed Stebos’ face. "Wouldn’t you like to know? You claim to have taught me, so shouldn’t you already have figured it out?" he answered, smiling. "I have had many different teachers before you, but each one failed, and you are nothing compared to them, or me. You were a lousy teacher, Ramien."

Sommers couldn’t take it any longer. Stebos had to pay. Launching himself through the air directly at Stebos, he let loose the most powerful blast he had ever employed. The remaining guardsmen followed Sommers’ lead. Once again, with lethal precision, Stebos deflected the blasts back at their sources.

Roe managed to deflect his returned blast away from himself with his sword. However, his technique was nothing compared to Stebos’. The best he could do was send it upward to the ceiling where it promptly blasted through the stone, causing an avalanche of rock to cascade down on him. Roe skipped and flipped about, and managed to dodge most of it, but a large stone caught him on his right temple, knocking him unconscious. He crumpled to the floor.

The other two guardsmen fell as well, one of them wounded and holding his shoulder, and the other one laying face down in some rubble, motionless.

That was when Sommers noticed that his blast never had returned to him. Instead, it had been directed right at Ramien’s face. Taken by surprise, Ramien barely had time to move his sword to intercept it. The powerful attack ripped Ramien’s sword from his grasp and sent it to the other side of the room. Moving with almost the same speed as the energy blast, Stebos charged Ramien.

With that, Sommers made a last ditch effort to save the king. He rushed Stebos with all his strength. A look of brief confusion flitted across Stebos’ face as he noticed the last remaining guardsman charging in an interception course with almost the same speed as he was moving.

However, the novelty wore off as Stebos’ fist struck Sommers across the face, sending his flailing body to the far side of the room. Sommers smashed into a support pillar, right shoulder first. Everything had gone black at that moment.

When he had woken up, the throne room was in shambles, and his right side and face hurt like no other. When he rushed to check for the king, he found him, slumped over against the base of the throne, defeated. The crystal of Kerah was also gone…


<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>


"Those are the events that have passed," Sommers admitted. "I failed in my duty to protect my king and my country. Stebos will pay for his deeds, and I am the one who will collect. Kerah is so weak and disorganized that we cannot even defend against his meridian knights. Along with the fact that our land is losing its energy now that the crystal of Kerah has been stolen, there is not much Kerah can do about the situation. However, I still can do much!

"With the crystal, Stebos has become even more powerful. I thought he was teaming up with Gailins to finally take us out, but it appears we were mislead…"

"It seems that Gailins has similarly been lead astray," Lauren admitted. "This whole time, we thought it was you attacking us…"

"Right, Stebos has been playing both sides off each other to divert the attention away from him so he can make his move, and…" Link trailed off. The other two went silent as well. They had been walking through the forest to the north for many hours now. The sounds of the woods had surrounded them the entire time. However, different sounds could now be heard, sounds that were not natural.

Leaving their horses behind, the three silently sprinted towards the noise. They stopped at the edge of the woods, and it was good that they did. The end of the forest was the beginning of a giant ravine, with a cliff face dropping to the bottom several tens of meters down. Link and Lauren dropped to their stomachs, peering over the cliff’s edge. What met their eyes was the worst surprise they could have seen.

Masses of Hylian troops marched through the ravine, lead by three figures on horses. What is this?!? Link thought. On the far right rode General Carley. In between the two rode…Princess Zelda?!? Link couldn’t make out who the third rider was, but he was too bewildered to think about it. What are Hylian soldiers doing here? Link rolled back around.

"Those are…" Link didn’t have to finish his sentence. Sommers stood with his sword inches from Link’s neck. Lauren had also gotten up, and was looking at Link with a half angry, half-hurt expression.

"Those," Sommers finished, "are Hylian troops being lead by Jenove, Stebos’ second in command."

Lauren once again looked as if he could cry. Tears welled up in his eyes. The expression on his face was almost enough to kill Link.

"Why?" was all he could say, and he still choked over the word. He turned around and hid his face in his hands. Sommers put his left hand on the boy’s shoulder as he wept. The sword stayed mere inches from Link’s throat.

"Lauren, I guess we are not so different now anymore. We both have experienced betrayal in the worst degree…"

"Wait!" Link exclaimed, seeing exactly where this was going, and not liking it, "there must be some sort of mistake here! Harkinian would never…"

"Silence!" Sommers bellowed, loud enough for the troops below to hear. His voice echoed off the ravine walls, bouncing off the many rock faces, so the troops couldn’t figure where the source was. The entire body slowed to a halt with the sound of clanking armor and stomping hooves, with the soldiers worriedly looking around for the voice. Realizing his mistake, Sommers lowered his tone

"You have nothing to say that will save you now. I should have know that trusting you would have been a big mistake." Sommers’ sword began glowing with a deadly orange light. "Your time is up."

Left with no alternative and using all his speed, Link drew his sword and knocked Sommers’ away at the last second. The blast missed Link, but instead tore into the ground he was laying on. The rock shuddered in protest, and then burst into pieces. The once solid ground under Link began a long decent to the ravine’s base. Sommers and Lauren had to jump back as the ground beneath their feet also disappeared. Once the rumbling of the miniature landslide had ceased, they peered over the cliff edge.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

The stones fell from under Link’s body, but, through some combination of luck and skill, he managed to roll to his side and slam his sword into the soft clay that made up some of the ravine wall. He hung there, his feet kicking at the rock surface to find something he could stand on. There, a platform! A large rock jutted out of the wall about a meter and a half. There were other such rocks on the face of the cliff all over the place.

By this time, all of the Hylian troops were staring that the new situation above them. Many had actually had to run from the path of the storm of rocks. Now they just stared at the hanging green figure.

"You are a tricky little fella, aren’t you?" Sommers snorted. Link looked up to see Sommers and Lauren standing at the edge of the cliff, several meters up. Sommers extended his sword, preparing to finish the job. "Too bad you won’t find yourself getting out of this one!"

"NO!" Link cried out, but it didn’t do him any good. Sommers unleashed a salvo of orange blasts. Link blocked the first few, but one of the blasts hit the boulder he was standing on, wrenching it loose from the wall. Link took a giant leap and landed on another rock farther down the cliff face. He swung his arms like windmills, trying to regain his balance, his toes right on the edge of the platform. Sommers didn’t give him a chance to recover, sending down more attacks. Lauren just stared on with a look of indifference on his face that was only betrayed by the tearstains lining his cheeks.

[Master Annoyer of the void!!]

Jumping, spinning, and flipping through the air, Link made his way down the cliff face, dodging the flying orange darts as he went.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"Are we under attack?" Zelda shouted over the sound of cascading boulders.

Jenove answered. "Yes, those two at the top of the cliff are from Kerah and Gailins."

"Then who is that green figure running away from them?" Carley shouted back.

"Oh no!" Zelda exclaimed. "IT’S LINK!"

"Who?" Jenove asked.

"It’s Link!" Zelda raised her hands, readying her magic spells. With all her might, she sent a shock wave of energy streaming at the top of the cliff. The wave was aimed just high enough so that it wouldn’t clip the top of the ravine and cause another landslide, but just low enough that the two figures had to duck to avoid it. Behind them, the attack raced onward, severing the tops from the trees in the forest just as easily as the wave cut through the open air. The two figures at the top of the ravine gave each other looks, and then smartly retreated.

Zelda noticed Carley staring at her. "Princess, I did not realize you had that kind of power in you!" Even Jenove seemed impressed at the display of raw magic energy.

"Oh," Zelda answered, "well that tends to happen when Link gets involved in my affairs…just wait and see what I do when he gets his little green rear over here!"

Link slowly made his way down the cliff and sprinted towards the leaders of the pack.

"What exactly do you think you are doing, Link?" Zelda yelled once Link got within an earshot. Link didn’t even respond. He kept charging until he was right next to the three leading the now confused Hylian troops.

"Carley, Zelda! Get down!" Link launched himself at Jenove, sword drawn. Surprised, Jenove managed to jump off his horse out of the way. Link didn’t give him time to do much more than that, as he came down hard on Jenove with his sword. Jenove’s blade just barely blocked the two handed attack. However, Link was seemingly easily thrown off with a hard kick to his midsection.

"Link! What in Hyrule are you doing?" Carley demanded. Link picked himself up from the ground.

"I don’t know what you are doing here, Carley," Link yelled, "But the real enemy is this man and his leader, Stebos!" Both Carley and Zelda averted their eyes to Jenove, waiting for him to either acknowledge or deny the accusation. Jenove smiled.

"You know Link, you are pretty clever figuring this out," he commented. "However, not even you can stop our plan from being carried out. Stebos was going to use this army as a distraction to Kerah and Gailins to get his needs. However, it really doesn’t matter what crystal we acquire first. You may have put a stop on that plan, but since your king was so smart to send his precious daughter along, I guess we will just hold her as ransom!" With those words, Jenove jumped and knocked Zelda from her horse. Dragging her up to her feet, Jenove stood behind her, his sword drawn across her neck. "If you knew what was good for you, you will return to your own land, if only to try and defend it from its inevitable destruction!" Zelda cried out as she vanished into thin air as Jenove teleported them both away.

Carley looked at Link. "You screwed up this time, didn’t you Link?" Link didn’t have the chance to reply, for suddenly, out of nowhere a horde of meridian knights appeared in front of them, teleporting in seconds as Jenove had teleported out. Carley gave Link another look. "I take that back, Link, you really screwed up this time."

Link didn’t attempt to refute the statement. "You’re right," he said looking back to the scarred cliff face where he had last seen Lauren and Sommers, "I really did screw up…"

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"You will pay for this, Stebos," Zelda promised. "Once Link goes and reports back to my father, you will have to deal with the entire Hylian army!"

Stebos laughed at the threat. "Then bring them on! I am sure your father remembers what I did to that poor fool Ganondorf those many years ago. I could destroy you’re entire country with ease!"

"Then why all the theatrics? What is it you need from us?" Zelda demanded.

"I need a citizen of Hyrule’s help, and to get it, I need to have a bargaining chip. That is where you come in, Princess. With you, your father will order this person to do as I say without doubt."

"And who is this person you seek? What do you need from them?"

"What I require is the crystal of Kokiri. However, the person I want is for…different reasons…"

"And who is it you want?" Zelda demanded.

"The one you call, the "Hero of Time." He owes me a longstanding debt for taking something from me, and he will pay it with his life." Zelda gasped at his words.

Oh no! she thought Link!

………………………………………………………………………………………………

It was a very rare thing indeed, to be summoned by the Great Deku Tree. Saria was nervous about the encounter. The Great Deku Tree had specifically asked for her. What could he want? she wondered. She took the winding path to the great opening in the trees, the opening the Great Deku Tree occupied.

"I am here!" she called out. "What is it you need of me?"

The Great Deku Tree responded. "Ah, my child! Thank you for coming. I fear there is grave danger approaching. A dark ‘stranger,’ who we are all too familiar with, is planning to make his move. We must be ready. Go and find our hero. He will be the only one who will be able to defend us now."

"I understand," Saria answered. "I know what must be done."

………………………………………………………………………………………………

The doors to the throne room burst open. The guard outside flew through wooden planks as if they made of sticks, rolling to skid to a halt on the red carpet. Harkinian was discussing trade relations with Albion, a neighboring country. The head of the Hyrule’s department of commerce stood up from his chair.

"What is the meaning of this?!?" he exclaimed. His protest was silenced as a green bolt of energy knocked him backwards. His body slammed onto the table, sending papers and charts all across the room. Harkinian was taken aback. The smoke and dust cleared from the destroyed doorway, and three figures approached from the arched entrance.

"Stebos!" Harkinian shouted, recognizing his massive figure. "What are you doing?" Behind him was Jenove, pressing Zelda in front of him, his arm around her throat in a holding position.

"Zelda!" Harkinian cried. "Release her this instant!" Stebos laughed.

"After all I did to help you, you treat me like this?" he questioned. "Sending one of your warriors to aid Gailins, and not telling me? How can we build a working relationship if we can’t trust each other?"

"There is nothing you can do to get me to trust you after what you’ve done! Now release my daughter right this instant!" Harkinian bellowed.

"Oh, I will, but you must do something for me first. I require you to fetch me one of your citizens."

"Who is this one you speak of?" Harkinian demanded.

"I require the help from this ‘Hero of Time’ your legends speak of. He must accompany me to the Kokiri forest where I will extract the Kokiri crystal. It’s a personal matter we need to settle between each other." Stebos let out a sadistic chuckle. "Once I obtain the Kokiri crystal, Gailins will have no choice but to give up theirs as well! Once I have all three, I will be unstoppable!"

"You don’t know what you are asking for," Harkinian said darkly. "The Hero of Time will take you down."

Stebos laughed. "Believe what you want, Harkinian, but either way, you will deliver this "Hero of Time" to me immediately, that is, if you want your daughter to live and your country to survive my wrath!"

Harkinian shook his head. "I am sorry, Stebos, but the Hero of Time is not here. He was the one I sent to Gailins."

A dark look crossed Stebos’ face. "I see," he commented, thinking. "You have one hour to get him here. For the time being, I think we will rest here, and catch up on old times…"


~*~*~*~*~*~


Lauren still couldn’t believe what had happened. How could Link and Harkinian have betrayed him? Now he didn’t have anyone left. Why was the world being so cruel? Didn’t fate ever get tired of antagonizing him? He hadn’t done anything wrong. Stop it!, he thought to himself, this whining will do nothing for you. All you can do now is try and correct your mistakes. Lauren rode next to Nikkole at the front of the remaining Gailian forces. I will lead them to the Hylians, and put right the things I have done wrong.

"How much further is it," Nikkole asked.

"Not much further," Sommers answered. Nikkole seemed weary with the Kerahian riding right next to him, especially one so high in stature.

"I don’t believe that Link could have been working as a double agent like that though," Nikkole said to no one in particular.

"But we saw what we saw," Sommers said. Nikkole looked to Lauren. Lauren simply nodded. The Hylian army was being lead by Jenove.

"Somehow Stebos has convinced the Hylians to aid him in our destruction," Sommers stated.

Nikkole just shook his head and the group moved in silence. The soldiers who followed made no noise either. They were tired, hungry, and lost without their leader. Still, they labored onward like machines, thirsting for closure and revenge.

They were drawing near...

[Master Annoyer of the void!!]

Chapter 2 (last one)
note:i should have stopped here and left u in suspense but i forgot to so here ya go

_______________________________________________

[Master Annoyer of the void!!]

"What is that noise?" Lauren asked.

"I know what that sound is!" Sommers exclaimed. "That is the sound of battle! Quickly! Let’s go!"

………………………………………………………………………………………………

The battle wasn’t looking very good. The Hylian forces were simply no match for the meridian knights. They had no means of defending against the energy blasts, or their immense strength. Things were looking hopeless. Carley stood in the middle of the mess, trying to yell orders over the sound of clanging swords and explosions. However, there was not a strategy that would help them. Having been totally surrounded and outclassed, there was no amount of tactical genius that could save them.

Link was once again had fallen back into his battle mode, destroying meridian knights with amazing grace and speed, but there were simply too many of them for him to handle alone. Things started looking grim, but then a ray of hope shot across the field, in the form of a Gailian energy attack.

It cut through the ranks of meridian knights with ease, sending them to the ground to burn into nothingness.

The Hylian troops all looked up in amazement as the energy consumed the final enemy, burning it to a crisp. The saving blast had emerged from high on the cliffs above. Standing at the peak of the ravine, stood Nikkole, as well as Sommers and Lauren. In Nikkole’s hand was a sparkling yellow object. Jumping from the very top of the cliff, Nikkole flew all the way down to Link, slowing down at the last possible moment to land gently to his feet.

"Just as I suspected," he said to Link. "This whole thing has been a ploy. Stebos was smart to try and get our nations to fight, but he underestimated a few things."

"What do you mean?" Link questioned.

"Stebos obviously wanted to frame Hyrule as being the culprit of the attacks against Gailins and Kerah, but you messed up his plan."

"It was also the work of Lauren and your kingdom," Link stated.

Nikkole gave a nod of acknowledgement. "That may be true," he spoke, "but the fact still remains, we need your help in ending this once and for all…"


~*~*~*~*~*~


"I am tired of all this nonsense! I can sense them coming as we speak," Stebos looked to his second in command. "Jenove, your plan has failed. It seems that the Hylians have allied themselves not only with Gailins, but Kerah as well. No matter, that is no concern to me anymore. With the crystal of Kerah, I am invincible. This will be easy. I have the crystal now; I have got to be powerful enough to handle that forest and…him…Jenove! We are leaving! Bring the princess, just in case…"


~*~*~*~*~*~


They were speeding back through the forest; all of them. The entire remaining Hylian taskforce, the Gailian crew, and, after some explaining, the newly recruited warriors from Kerah. Thousands of figures blew through the forest, each one wearing a silver medallion around their neck. The mass tore through the underbrush, kicking up leaves and dust in its path.

Abruptly, the forest ended, and the mass found themselves racing over an open field. Seconds later, the river came into view, its winding body signifying their entrance into Hyrule. Finally, the high walls that guarded the Hylian marketplace and the castle came into view. It was late, but Link noticed something odd.

Usually by this time, the town gates would have been closed in defense against the stalchildren who ran rampant during the night hours. However, it was far too late and dark, and the drawbridge was down. The reason was made apparent as three figures walked from the entrance: Stebos, Jenove, and Zelda.

Even though they were far out, Stebos’ massive energy was enough to cause an energy bubble, which effectively nulled the silver medallion’s power. The mass of warriors came to a screeching halt a good five hundred meters from the castle gates, near the bulky mass of Lon Lon Ranch.

Stebos laughed. "So, you have finally returned. I was wondering if you would ever figure it out."

Nikkole took the lead, stepping forward to address Stebos. "Your reign of tyranny and deception has ended, Stebos! You’re finished this day!"

Stebos seemed to find the words humorous. "How original of you Nikkole," his response boomed, loud enough for all to hear, even from his position so far away. "You sound like the righteous warrior I know you are! You are pathetic! You are too late to stop me!" He held up the glowing orange crystal of Kerah in his hand. "With this power, all your strength combined doesn’t stand a chance!"

"You are so sure of yourself, but you have underestimated our nations for the last time. This will be your downfall!" Nikkole proudly held up the glowing yellow crystal of Gailins. "You will now see the true fury of Gailins!"

Stebos was not amused. "It was unwise of you to remove the crystal of Gailins from the home land. Slowly, like Kerah, your world will now die. Your people will suffer, and then perish. You have sealed their fate."

"Their fate was already sealed when you removed the crystal of Kerah!" Nikkole refuted, "Without the balance, you have destroyed both our lands! Have you no loyalties?"

Before he could answer, Sommers jumped in. "Of course he does not! He killed our king and stole our crystal! Even after all our king did for him, he still betrayed us! This man knows nothing of loyalty! He only serves himself!"

Stebos laughed hard at the comment, so hard it almost sounded maniacal. "You are right!" he proclaimed. "I only serve those who are more mighty than I, and I have yet to come across anyone who can challenge my power! And when you depend on one who has more power than you do to survive, when they fail, you go down with them! Look at what happened to your kingdom in my wake! It has fallen! If you fools have learned only one thing from me, it should be that, in this world, you can only trust yourself!"

Nikkole shook his head, partly in pity, partly in disgust. "That only happens when the powerful are as sadistic as you, Stebos. That is what we have learned, that your kind must be destroyed!" With those words, Nikkole let loose a massive blast of yellow energy from his hand that housed the crystal. The giant surge flew across the distance separating the two parties in an instant. However, a shield of another type of energy deflected the impressive show of force. The blast shook the ground as the two energies met. However, when the quake subsided, and the air grew clear, Stebos still stood his ground, the crystal of Kerah glowing brightly in his hand. The orange shield that he had erected with the crystal slowly faded away. He stood there, laughing.

"You fool! You think your pathetic attempts to stop me will ever succeeded? I have killed your king and the king of Kerah! I have murdered the countless others who have stood in my way. You are pathetic!" In an instant, Stebos was right in front of Nikkole, and the entire massed armies of three powerful nations. Nikkole was stunned with his speed. "Your abilities are so frail, you couldn’t even see me move," Stebos stated, leaning right into Nikkole’s face with the words. "Do you think you can kill something that you can’t even see?"

[Master Annoyer of the void!!]

Nikkole stood steady in his same spot, his arm still stretched out with the crystal from delivering the last attack. Once again, Stebos moved with lightning swiftness. Link, and all who were around, could hear the sickening crack of bone as Stebos caught Nikkole’s arm between his knee and elbow, breaking it. Sweat beads ran down Nikkole’s face as he winced in pain. The crystal of Gailins dropped from his fist to the ground. It landed on the soft grass, bouncing once, to rest on its side by Stebos’ feet. He leaned in close to whisper in Nikkole’s ear. Nobody tried to stop him. The entire army was still in shock from the power they had just witnessed.

"Nikkole," Stebos whispered, "I know you are wondering right now ‘How is this monster still standing? I just attacked him directly with the crystal of Gailins. I know you know the secrets of the crystals. The thing you don’t know is that when one of us uses a power of a different kind, both powers are enhanced. You have only touched the power of Gailins, something you were born with, something you have never been away from. However, I have lived on Kerahian soil for most of my life, but that was not supposed to be my destiny. I come from another place, where the power is different. Your kingdoms wonder why I am so strong, but you have been standing on the answer the whole time. You from Gailins are adepts of yellow earth. Those from Kerah are adepts of orange earth. I am neither, so I grew strong, feeding off of both your energies.

"However, now with the crystal of Kerah in my possession, nobody from Kerah can stand in my way." Bending over, he scooped up the yellow crystal from the ground. "Now, neither can anyone from Gailins. There is only one who has a chance at stopping me now…"

Stebos took his index finger and placed it on Nikkole’s armor. "You are pathetic." With his finger, Stebos pushed Nikkole to the ground. Still in pain, Nikkole just laid there, with Stebos towering over him, laughing.

Sommers had had enough standing and staring at the entire event unfold before his eyes. He had had enough of Stebos walking all over everybody in his path. He still had a score to settle with the evil man. He launched himself from his horse, sword drawn, screaming the battle cry of Kerah at the top of his lungs. Stebos turned with lightning reflexes, and held up his hand. Sommers halted in his place in midair, as if time had stopped. Stebos turned to him. "Like I just told Nikkole here," he announced, "None of you have the power to stop me now! If you had joined forces sooner against me, you may have prevailed, growing stronger by sharing your powers, but wait!" A satirical grin crossed his face. "That is why I had you fighting each other in the first place! You are silly men. I’m so crafty you didn’t know what hit you until it was too late!"

Link was taken aback by Stebos’ choice of language. It was almost childish. Link looked at him, which was a bad move. Stebos turned to him, Sommers still held fast in mid air.

"And you! Hero of Time! You have a debt you owe me on, and you owe me big!" Link moved to draw his sword from its sheath on his back, but didn’t move nearly quickly enough. With crystals in both hands, Stebos turned and unleashed a spell. From both crystals, glowing chains of energy shot out, wrapping themselves around Link’s body. They pinned his arms to his sides and his legs together. Losing his balance, Link fell on his face into the grass. This seemed to amuse Stebos greatly. The chains held Link’s body, but they didn’t hold his voice.

"What debt to I owe you?" Link exclaimed.

"You will see, but the moment is not right. There are others who owe me more than you, and you will see when we get into the Lost Woods." With those words, Link and Stebos both disappeared, to teleport back to Jenove’s side across the field. Link reappeared next to Zelda’s side. However, he was still tied up, and promptly fell to the ground again. Zelda moved to help him, but Jenove’s hand intercepted her, knocking her to the ground.

"Sommers!" Stebos called from across the field. "You could not protect your king from me! Now let’s see if you can protect yourself!" Laughing, Stebos drew up both crystals and slammed them together. From them, a giant energy flew high into the air. Hundreds of meters in the air, the blast exploded into a fireworks of smaller energies. They fell to the ground, and, in a puff of smoke, a meridian knight appeared in each one's place. "These warriors have been created with the combined power of Kerah and Gailins, not by me! Let’s see how well you and your pathetic army fare against them now!"

With that, Stebos and his party disappeared across the field, rushing towards the entrance to the Lost Woods…

………………………………………………………………………………………………

As Stebos disappeared, his grasp on Sommers vanished as well, causing Sommers to unexpectedly tumble to the ground. Looking up from the grass, he saw the massive army Stebos had created. He looked over at Nikkole, who still lay on the ground in pain.

"You are in command now," Nikkole stated. Sommers nodded. "Take that monster down!"

"Order understood!" Sommers shouted. He stood up. "Carley! Tell your men to back down! There will be no more Hylian blood spilled in this war. Gailins and Kerah will end this nightmare, once and for all!"

With those words, the two armies of two longtime rival countries came together and fought side by side, the discrepancies between them turning petty and frivolous.

Stebos was right that we could not defeat him as separate forces, but together, not even he will stop us this time!


~*~*~*~*~*~


It had been a long, long time since Link had seen this place. Everything looked the same as it had when he had left so many years ago. Even his tree house was still there, with the grass trimmed around the edges of the roots, just how he used to like it.

Someone has been keeping it up for me Link thought. Link looked around, as much as the chains would let him. He had been allowed to walk on his own now, but trailing right behind him was Jenove. Stebos led the way, with Zelda positioned between him and Link.

The trek through the forest had been long, and the chains never loosened. They were pressing so hard on the shield he wore on his back that the edges were digging into his skin. Link just clenched his teeth and took it, for there was nothing he was able to do about it.

Stebos made his way through the small village, almost like he knew exactly what he was looking for, like he had been here before. They walked down the dirt path along side of the small creek that ran through the tiny village. Link noticed something he hadn’t before. The houses all looked the same, but they were empty. Link knew that by this time a night, all the Kokiri should have been huddled comfortably in their warm homes getting ready for a night of sleep. However, nothing stirred in this place Link knew so well. Even the fairies and the once abundant swooping colored flashy thingies were absent. The woods were silent. There was no noise throughout the entirety of the forest. Slowly, the group made its way onward, until they came to a narrow path at the edge of the village.

"What do you need with the Great Deku Tree?" Link demanded, figuring out where Stebos was taking them.

"So, you have finally found out where we are going?" Stebos smirked. "So I am sure you know what I am after then, oh wise Hero of Time."

"You want the Kokiri crystal, don’t you? You lands are just like this forest. The land gives you your life force. If you travel too far from your land for an extended period of time, you will become weak and die. Just like the Kokiri."

"You are smart," Stebos poked. "However, that is only my secondary mission. My first one comes on a more personal note…revenge."

Link shuddered at the words. "Against who?" he questioned, dreading the response.

Stebos laughed again. "Against all those who have done me wrong. You are one of them, but there are others, including your precious Great Deku Tree." Link had nothing to say. He was too confused at everything.

Stebos snorted and continued onward. A short while later, Link, Jenove, and Zelda arrived with him at the great clearing, the one that held the Great Deku Tree. It had been a while since Link had seen the Great Deku Tree. The last time he had been in this place was when it had only been a small Deku Sprout. He remembered that moment after his victory against Phantom Ganon deep in the Forest Temple.

However, many years had passed, and quite apparently, the sprout had grown into what had made the Great Deku Tree so amazing before. The tree towered over the land, even larger than the one that had summoned Link to speak with it so many years ago…

"So you have finally returned to us, Meikyle." The Great Deku Tree spoke. "It has been a while."

"You!" Stebos growled, "it was you speak as if you are glad to see me, but I will prove to you that I am not simply dropping by to say ‘hi.’"

The Great Deku Tree acknowledged Stebos’ words with silence.

"You know why I am here! You know what I am going to do to you…"

Again, the Great Deku Tree remained silent.

"Fine!" Stebos declared, "if you have no last words, then farewell, old protector of the Kokiri!"