Step Into Hell

Chapter 9

Once the three were safe in Link and Damien's shared cabin, Damien turned on Link, demanding to know what she was thinking, why she couldn't have taken the two seconds to come and get him. Link sat in silence. She figured she deserved this, he was right. She did leave on her own without any warning. She even left without a weapon! What could she have done if that monster had decided to kill her right then?

Link was expecting Tetra to take a turn once Damien had lost his steam, but she stayed curiously quiet. It was almost making her uncomfortable. Was Tetra upset to the point that she couldn't even say anything?

After what seemed to be forever, the pirate finally spoke. "What is it that he gave you? What can you use to summon him with?" Link was taken aback; she wasn't expecting to be asked about that. She hadn't even looked at the thing herself.

The medallion fit into the palm of Link's hand and was the color of burnished gold. On the one side it had an open mouthed skull with pointed teeth. The fangs were dulled from what could have only been years and years of wear. The other side was smoother, with scratches that could have only been words once upon a time. She turned it over to Tetra who in turn inspected the thing as well.

Tetra had fallen silent again. She took her time studying both sides of the medallion with a faraway look in her eyes. She must be tapping into her piece of the Triforce. Link watched her; always curious about what it must be like to have a connection to the past Triforce of Wisdom bearers and to hear all that they had to say. Link's own connection was shoddy at best, magic wasn't her strong suit nor did she have the patience for that kind of thing.

With a sigh, Tetra came back to the real world and handed the thing back to Link. "The magics and the information that I can tap into have nothing for me on this or your monster. We need to be careful; especially with that."

"I have half a mind to throw it into the ocean," Damien chimed in from his cot. "This monster not only claims to be evil but the very incarnation of it. He has power over souls. Tell me again why you thought entering into a contract with him was a good idea?"

Link opened her mouth to snap at him, but Tetra beat her to it. "There's no reason to beat her up about it! What's done is done. All we can do is to make sure she wins this first fight. So I've decided that as soon as this storm blows over we'll be heading for Old Hyrule. Get some rest. We won't be stopping until we arrive."

With that Tetra left Link alone with Damien. They were silent for a long time. Link was staring at the ceiling and Damien was on his side with his back towards her. She wanted to say something, anything, to ease the awkwardness that she was feeling.

"I would have done the same thing. If it was my Zelda," Damien was the one to break the silence. "So I… So I understand."

"Is that why you're so angry with me?"

"Yes," he said after a moment. "Angry and afraid. You don't need to walk the same path I did."

"I won't-"

"You say that. You might even do that for a while. But if you keep making deals with devils you'll be in the same place as I am."

Damien was quiet after that. After getting the last say, he must have been done. Link stayed up, going over the night's events and everything that had been said afterwards. There was truth in his last words and Link knew it.

She sighed and tried to settle in. The room had gotten stuffy, but with the rain and thunder she didn't dare open the small window. Soon sleep began to gnaw at the edges of her consciousness and that familiar tinge of fear sent one last jolt of wakefulness through her. She had left her sleeping potions and charms on the SS Linebeck. Would she be all right without them? There really isn't a reason to torment her anymore; she probably did what he wanted all along. Why bother her further?

When Link next opened her eyes, sunlight was streaming through that little window. She had slept through the night without any dreams. It was a strange feeling. She actually felt rested and more like herself. She slipped out of her cot and found Damien's empty. How long had she slept? They didn't let her sleep all day, did they?

Apparently they had. When Link had gone up onto the deck she found that the sun was halfway across the sky. They must have sailed a great distance away from Great Fish Isle if she could in fact see the sun. It was as if the storm from last night hadn't even happened.

Link leaned against the railing and felt like she could, for once, enjoy the sea spray and the warmth of the sun. There was a healthy amount of wind and the ship seemed to be keeping a good pace, even with towing the SS Linebeck. Tetra wasn't fooling around.

They were doing it. She was going to get the Master Sword, summon that monster, and beat the ever living hell out of him. She won't let Linebeck stay in whatever Hell he's in if she could help it. Now it was just a matter of time.

"There you are!" Tetra clapped Link on the back. "How'd you sleep? Finally get some rest?"

"Yeah; I, I actually did. It was weird," she laughed at herself. When did a normal night's sleep become weird? "I guess since I gave him what he wanted he'll leave my dreams alone."

"Soon he'll be gone forever and you won't have to worry about it anymore."

Link makes a noncommittal noise and returns her gaze to the ocean. Would it really be over? She lets herself think that it will for a moment. But just a moment, because she knows by being the Chosen Hero that nothing will ever be over until she's dead. A Hero doesn't stop being a Hero once their quest is over. She has saved the world several times since she was ten. Link knew that after this there would be a stretch of peacetime but evil will always be there. It will always come.

She stays there for a long time. Eventually Tetra leaves to tend to her ship. The crew comes by and says their hellos during their work but she's mostly left alone. Link's thoughts kept returning to her encounter with that faerie. Would the Goddesses keep her from getting to the Master Sword? Or would it just be dead steel in her hand?

That would be a bridge to cross when they get there she supposed. For now she would hold onto the hope that the Sword of Evil's Bane could help her defeat that thing and free Linebeck. For right now she wanted to be selfish and enjoy the day, enjoy the fact that she was able to sleep and wake up to a fantastically sunny day.

The day was well spent. When Link grew bored with staring at the ocean, she joined the crew in the tasks that they had. Simple jobs kept her mind off the awful things that had happened and kept her in a happier mood in general. There's a comfort in doing menial tasks. It made things feel normal and that's what Link needed.

At dinner Tetra announced that they were making excellent time, even with towing another boat along. If the weather held up, they should reach Old Hyrule within a few days. Link was relieved and apprehensive all at once. That fear of the Master Sword being useless to her was creeping back into her thoughts.

As the days pass, Link is starting to think that she can start to see the Tower of the Gods. Tetra had been right, they were making fantastic time. A look through a spy glass confirms her suspicion. She isn't sure what she's feeling at that point. Excitement? Apprehension? Full out Terror? Either way, she will find out if the Master Sword's power will be hers again.

"Damien," Link caught his arm, never taking her gaze away from the horizon. "Do you think… Do you think I'll be able to use the Master Sword?"

"I think you should stop worrying about it. We aren't even there yet," he plucked her hand from his sleeve. "You know we'll be with you regardless."

Link sighed. "I know," she replied. But would that be enough?

The Shadow of the Tower of the Gods engulfed Tetra's ship and filled Link with mixed feeling of anticipation and dread. Soon would be the moment of truth. Soon she would find out if the Master Sword would work for her as she intended or if it would just be like any other sword.

Link let out a breath she didn't know she was holding when the ship passed beneath an archway and back into the sun. The circle of light that would take anyone proven worthy to Old Hyrule was still there.

"Good luck," Damien squeezed Link's shoulder.

"You're not coming?" she stopped half way into the dinghy.

"I don't think I'd be allowed back there. I'll be here when you two get back, though."

"Where else could you go?" Tetra punched his shoulder. "Goddesses, you two are more terrible than those plays they make for teenagers."

Embarrassed, Link sat in the little boat and patiently waited for Tetra to row them over to the light. The dinghy was slowly engulfed in this light and when Link shifted inside, she felt that familiar warmth. This was The Goddess' embrace, the feeling of a mother's arms around a frightened child. Within moments of fully entering that light, it intensified, forcing Link and Tetra to shield their eyes. Once the light dispersed, they found themselves beached on the dirt path that wound up to the Old Hyrule Castle.

Old Hyrule had not changed since the last time Link was here. It was still silent; the only sound being the crunch of the dirt and gravel beneath the girls' feet. There was no sigh of the breeze through the leaves, no bird song, nothing from the town.

"It never gets an easier coming here, does it?" Tetra spoke softly. They both felt anything louder would shatter the spell.

Link nodded. "No, it never does."

They walked in silence up the path to the castle. It would always surprise Link that the doors never made a sound. She would forget that Old Hyrule is frozen in time. Much like the outside, the inside of the palace stayed very much the same. There wasn't even dust. The lush red carpet, the massive statue in tribute to The Goddesses, and the tapestries on the wall were spotless. Link was always marveled with how strong this spell was.

The girls turned to a side door and took it down, down past the servants' quarters, the dungeon; they didn't stop until they were at that secret room, that secret shrine. Here, the spell seemed to be lifted. Here there was the constant, soothing chanting of an ethereal choir. The path from the door was in a spotlight that leads to a pedestal. On the walls surrounding it there were stained glass windows that shone from some otherworldly light. This far underground it could not be sunlight and there was no flickering as if a flame were behind it. Each window had the visage of the Old Hyrule's Sages, one for each Element.

The combined light from the windows cast a rainbow on where the Master Sword lay sleeping. Link stood staring until Tetra gave her a gentle push. She let out a breath and found the will to move her legs forward. She hesitated at the steps, glancing back at Tetra. She was afraid; terrified. What if she couldn't take it? What if it was just dead steel?

Link clenched her fists and took the few steps up to the pedestal. Her hands were shaking, but she grasped the hilt. She felt it; the pulse of life and magic from the sword coursed through her fingers to her body like electricity. The sword sighed as it left its resting place and despite the reason that she was here, Link felt herself smile. Link sliced at the air, finding comfort in the way it would sing through the air. She could feel the power within the Master Sword and she felt complete. She was its master and it would always awaken at her call.

Tetra smiled at her from across the room. "Ready to go?" Link nodded and seemed to bounce back towards the door. "It looks like you were worried for nothing."

Link allowed herself to blush. "Yeah, but do you blame me?" Tetra shook her head and followed Link through the door.

There was a cheer when the two girls appeared back onto the sea. "Now that's a welcome back if I ever heard one," Tetra smirked.

The crew crowded around, asking a million questions at once. The one question that got through was if the Master Sword had its power? In response, Link drew the blade from its sheath and let it catch the sunlight. The display was dazzling. The blade caught and absorbed the light, retaining it to cast its own brilliant light. Another cheer went up from the crowd and Link was surrounded with friendly slaps on the back and words of encouragement.

"So it's live?" Damien asked when he finally broke through the crowd. "They haven't denied you its power?"

"No, at least not yet," she replied. She ran her fingers over the shining metal. "I hope – I hope this means that They'll let me pursue this."

"If he's threatening you, then he means to threaten the entire world," Tetra butt in. "There's no way They'd let that slide."

"I hope you're right." Link sighed. "Now there's nothing to do but to find a place and summon him. Get this over with."

So, its been almost five months since my last update (three days before exactly five months!). Can I say that for every review, every watch this story gets just makes me so happy? I can't be happier knowing that you guys are enjoying this story and are putting up with such long waits between chapters. I'm trying to make each chapter longer, to make that wait worth it.