Roland came down with a crash, and the sword clattered dangerously close to him, its whirling tattoos threatening to slice his arm off. The ethereal presence that had thrown him around floated up through the floor and formed into a solid shape…a stout but muscular man sprouting a hideous curled moustache and dressed to his chin in plates of gold armor. He wielded the same blade as Roland, except instead of black they were pulsing with what looked like molten gold.

"Commander Gaor" Navi heard one of the Stalchildren whisper. The glossy surfaces nearly blinded her, and at the same time she was trying to think of ways of assisting Roland.

"Come on!" she shouted at him as he tried to right himself. "Use a healing potion! Just get up!"

As Roland pressed himself up, cradling his head in his hands, there was another cackle from above. Commander Gaor looked up, and his face broke into a grin.

"I hope you are prepared, child!" He cried out in a booming voice that shattered through their bodies. Another laugh sounded, but this one was different…crackly, and rather than booming it was soft, deep and malicious.

Roland pushed himself off the floor and groaned. "That's not fair!" he wailed helplessly as a second ghost joined them.

This commander was the exact opposite of his partner. He was tall, thin and void of any facial hair whatsoever. He wore flowing, dark red robes, and his Ikana sword was curled slightly all the way to the tip to create an arch like shape. A slight gap in the robes on his chest revealed the glint of silver armor. His eyes were deep set into his face, and it was with these that he stared at the two newcomers, a grin twitching at the corners of his mouth.

"Commander Ashrai!" Commander Gaor boomed, turning to his companion. "There appears to be two intruders in our midst! Whatever shall we do with them?"

Commander Ashrai grinned now, and licked his lips in a way that made Navi recoil in disgust.

"Intruders?" he said, voice like that of a snake. "I think Master Stal would like to meet these two. Let's have a little fun of our own first, shall we?"

Roland backed away slowly, and drew out the Ikana sword. The two ghosts glanced at each other, exchanging glances of both surprise and amusement, and then Goar disappeared.

"Oh no…" Navi muttered as Roland whirled around wildly, surprised to find his adversary had vanished. A split second later, Commander Ashrai had vanished also, leaving only an echoing laughter behind him.

Roland gulped. "Navi…?" he pleaded, turning to her with wide eyes. Navi could only stare helplessly back. Suddenly, she saw a faint outline appearing behind him, and before she could shout out a warning Commander Gaor struck out with his spectral sword and knocked Roland off his feet.

"Roland!" Navi cried, flying to his aid. Before she could get close, he let out a scream and clutched his chest.

"He cut me!" he cried, clutching his chest. "It hurts! Navi, it hurts!"

Navi tried to get a look at the wound, but she couldn't see any blood. Goar gave a quiet chuckle and disappeared behind them.

"There isn't any wound!" Navi assured him. "He didn't cut you!"

Before she could say anything more, there was a whooshing noise and something appeared beside Roland's feet. Commander Ashrai's head pushed through the floor and in a split second he swung his sword around and sliced at Roland's leg. It passed right through him, and Gaor disappeared oncr more, laughing as he went. This time, Roland didn't scream. Instead, he looked down at his leg in surprise and then slowly began falling to one side, his face growing paler and paler.

"Roland!" Navi cried again, rushing to his sack. "He didn't cut you! He didn't! Take a red potion! Quick!"

Roland didn't seem to be listening to her. Instead, he crumpled to the ground, clutching his side and wailing. The two Stalchildren in the cage looked on in despair, and Navi suspected that the battle would be over sooner than it had begun unless she did something. Without pausing another second, she rummaged through her own sack and picked out her ocarina, then put it to her mouth and tried to remember the song Koti had played.

I hope this will work. She thought, and then blew.

The notes came out clumsy and sharp, but they were the notes and they played the song of the rebellion. Within seconds, Navi heard a noise, and then the door behind them burst open and the bars clattered to the ground, well and truly shattered. Two Stalchildren entered the room, and it took Navi a moment to realize one of them was Koti. The two were dressed in the armor of a Stalfos, but it was much too large for them and it swung heavily on their small bodies. They also wielded daggers with crudely carved wooden hilts and shields that Navi recognized but couldn't quite place.

Roland looked up weakly, his face as white as the ghost that had attacked him. Koti and the stranger regarded him for a moment, and then Koti turned to Navi.

"You called us just in time, I believe." He said. "He's been attacked?"

Navi nodded, and then realized that he couldn't see it and swallowed a sob in order to speak.

"He was cut, but there isn't a wound." She said. "I don't know what to do!"

She paused as something began appearing behind Roland. Koti and the other Stalchild seemed to notice as well…they both ran over to Roland and grabbed the Ikana sword. Commander Gaor's face appeared in mid air, grinning at the shrunken figure on the floor and preparing to swipe. The two just stood there, clutching the sword and staring ahead.

"What are you waiting for?" Navi cried, pointing at the Commander. "Don't just stand there! Do so-"

"Now!" Koti cut her off, and then the two plunged the sword through the half-transparent figure. Surprisingly enough, it stayed in the air, and two seconds later Gaor had fully materialized. He lifted his arm and the sword, and then seemed to freeze. He looked down at the blade, lodged straight through his armor, and then gave a retching noise and doubled over backwards.

"That's it!" the Stalchildren inside the prison gave a little cheer. Koti instantly rushed over to Roland and gripped him by the arms, pulling him up roughly and ignoring his cries of pain.

"You haven't been cut." He said calmly, "You're fine. Just think through the pain. It will be over once we win."

Roland didn't seem to hear him. "My leg…he cut it off…"

Koti stared at him for a moment, then took his hand and placed a dagger there. Roland tried to grab it, but it slipped through his fingers and clattered to the floor.

"What's wrong with him?" Navi asked, flying towards them. Koti shook his head.

"I'm not sure." He answered. "The Commanders are powerful guardians. They use all sorts of magic…in any case, he's in no condition to fight."

He was interrupted a tinkling noise coming from somewhere. Navi looked around and then noticed the fallen dagger was trembling on the floor. Koti and the other Stalchildren seemed to notice too, and the two in the cage began pointing frantically at the floor.

"He's coming!" They said. "There!"

Commander Ashrai's head appeared in the floor and he flew upwards, cackling madly and swinging his blade around his head. The two Stalchildren rushed towards him, but by the time they could attack he had already disappeared into the ceiling. There was a moment of quietness, and then the dagger on the ground began clattering again as the floor rumbled beneath their feet.

"Are you ready?" Koti asked, and his companion nodded. Suddenly, he was shoved to the side as Commander Ashrai appeared between their legs, once again swinging out his deadly blade. The two were knocked to the side, their equipment scattering uselessly around them. Commander Ashrai smirked, and then caught sight of Navi.

"So, little fairy…" he began, pointing his blade outwards. "Fancy being the Master's newest soldier?" he quickly advanced on her, frozen to the spot as the blade came ever closer…

Whoosh! Something shot through the air from below with incredible speed and passed right through the bottom of Ashrai's armor. Ashrai's blade stopped its advance as the dagger that had once rested on the floor passed through his stomach, his neck, and exited the top of his skull with a sickening cracking noise. He doubled over backwards and screamed, and something fell to the ground with a clatter. There was a burst of bright blue flames, and then the Commander disappeared.

The Stalchildren sat up slowly. Navi herself blinked in confusion, then she turned to Roland who was strewn out across the floor, eyes shut firmly, hand stretched towards the place where the dagger had once been. She rushed over to him and fluttered in front of his face.

"Roland?" she asked quietly. "Roland? Are you okay?"

One of his eyes opened slowly, and he peeked at Navi from under his heavy eyelids. He opened the other eye, and then carefully pushed himself up off the floor.

"…yeah, I think I'm okay…" he stuttered, and then he quickly felt up his legs. A look of relief passed across his face.

"It hurt so much!" he said eventually, once he was assured all his limbs were intact. "I thought he'd cut my leg off!"

He looked over at the Stalchildren. "Thank you a lot…I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't shown up."

"Thank your fairy." Koti said, and he stood up and walked over to where a silver key now rested on the floor. He picked it up and moved to the cage, inserted the key in the lock and clicked it open. The chains guarding the door fell with a crash, and the two Stalchildren practically exploded out of their prison with cries of joy.

"Yes!" one of them cried, punching the air. "Thank you so much!"

"We're forever in your debt!" The other added, bowing clumsily. "Thank you young warrior! And thank you, fairy!"

"Um…you're welcome." Roland replied, turning a little red. Navi just nodded. The two Stalchildren rushed to the door and then exited the room, disappearing into the terrain as the others. Koti gathered his things and nodded at the two.

"The next time it will be easier." He said. "You have freed two of the six captured. Two more who can give you help the next time you find you need assistance. But be careful…we might not always be able to hear you. I must return to the rebellion now…good luck with the others."

He gestured to his companion, and the other Stalchild began to follow. Then Navi noticed the design on the shield and a flash of recognition flashed across her mind

"That's a Kokiri shield!" she exclaimed, pointing. "You're one of the missing Kokiri!"

The Stalchild looked up at her, hesitated, and nodded. Navi's worst fears were confirmed…she let out a gasp and a shiver traveled down her spine.

"Yes. I am of the Kokiri." The Stalchild said, lowering his head sadly. "I'm Fraye. And you…" he lifted his head a little, "you're Navi. Link's fairy."

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Roland lean closer and look at Fraye curiously. She wondered what to say next, but Fraye spoke first.

"You must be wondering what happened to the others. As far as I know they are safe and I'm the only one that's been changed. But I don't know for sure. It's best if you hurry and free the others so we can begin the rebellion."

He didn't say anything more. Instead, he handed the shield to Roland and put a bony hand on his shoulder.

"This shield is of the Kokiri forest, made from the bark of the once Great Deku Tree. It has protected many a Kokiri for generations, and I hope it does the same for you. Good luck."

And with that, Koti and Fraye left the room and, as the others before them, burrowed down into the ground and vanished. Roland and Navi were once again left alone. Roland examined his new shield with curiosity and perhaps a hint of glee, and then turned to the door as well and began to march out of the stone prison.

"Off we go then!" he said, swinging his new shield around contentedly. "Now that I've got something to protect me, this should be easy."

They exited the room and returned to the main cavern. Luckily, nobody was waiting from them outside the door…in fact, the cavern was almost empty. Navi and Roland could hear the sound of arguing coming from a tunnel entrance on the ground floor, and then the sound of clacking swords.

"Maybe that's Koti and the others." Roland reflected, looking around for any signs of advancing Stalfos. When they were sure nobody was coming anytime soon, Roland looked over at the tower and his eyes fell on the locked door.

"We need to get into the tower." Navi said, following his gaze. "That's where the rest of the Stalchildren and Kokiri are."

Roland frowned and pointed at it. "First we have to find the key." He looked around again, and then pointed to a door on the other side of the room on the ground floor.

"That door looks promising." He decided, walking out of the room and shutting the door behind them. One more cautious look around, and then he headed to the ground floor to cross over. The two darted across the dirt, scattering dust around as they approached the door, but the Stalfos still seemed to be occupied with their fighting. They got over to their destination without a lot of trouble, and Roland quickly opened it.

"Maybe this time we'll actually find the key easily." Navi joked, jumping inside before Roland.

As soon as she entered the room, Navi felt it. It was like a sharp stab to her senses…an overflow of magic in the air, and an unmistakable coldness flooded through her. She heard Roland enter the room, but it barely registered as she opened her mouth and screamed.

"Roland!" she shouted in alarm. "Look out! Re-Deads!"

Too late. The door slammed behind them, and she heard Roland take a sharp intake of breath.

The room they had entered was round, and in the floor were plunged five sword hilts. Some were Ikana, some were Hylian, Navi though she saw a Kokiri sword, and they were each plunged into the ground at different lengths. Surrounding the room were four cages, barred by a thick iron mesh, and in three of these cages stood a Re-Dead.

They were just as she remembered them. Brown, crinkly skin stretched over a thin skeleton, leaving tiny flakes of dust where ever they walked. Thin limbs stretching out towards them, forever grasping for something they couldn't reach. Sunken face staring outwards with sunken eyes, hollow pits that went on staring, unblinking and unmoving, for all eternity. They each groaned softly, groans of despair and longing, speaking of histories that had long since been buried. The coldness that surrounded them was despairing…she could feel Roland shivering beside her.

"Navi." He asked, voice barely a whisper. "What are they?

"Re-Deads." She replied, "Servants of Ganondorf."

"Re-Deads? Why are they called that?" Roland asked, taking a step closer to one of the cages.

Navi gulped. "Because…once, they might have been alive, but now they're just a shadow, an eco of life. They crave life. They want it so badly they'll try and take it from you, if they get the chance. And the worst part is, they're never satisfied. No matter how many people they kill, they'll just keep living a half life. Forever."

Roland took another tentative step closer. "How could someone create such monsters?" he whispered.

"Be careful!" Navi warned. "Don't get any closer or…"

Suddenly, an ear splitting scream erupted from the Re-Dead, causing Roland to jump back with fright. The Re-Dead launched itself onto the bars, latching on and clawing at its prison, wailing desperately. Roland and Navi scrambled back to the centre of the room and watched, horrified, as the monster grappled with the cage. After a minute or so it seemed to give up, and detached itself from the barrier. It walked to the middle of the cage and sat down, curling its knees to its chest and bowing its head as if to sleep, quietly groaning once more.

Nobody spoke for a moment, and then Roland stood up and brushed the dirt off his tunic. He surveyed the room again, a mix of curiosity and terror on his face, and then turned to Navi.

"Navi?" he asked. "How do we get out of here?"

Navi glanced at each cage, and stared long and hard at the last one to their right. There was a door behind it, their salvation, but how in Hyrule could they get to it?

"Search for clues." She suggested. "A lever, a crystal, a different colored patch of dirt. Maybe there's something on the swords. There has to be something that tells us what to do."

So they began searching. Navi examined the bars, trying to stay as far away as possible from the Re-Deads who surveyed them with their hollow eyes. Roland studied the swords, and tugged at one experimentally.

"Why do you think Master Stal created a new Stalfos?" he asked. "I mean, if he already had all those other ones, what's the point?"

Navi shrugged. "I don't know." She replied, scanning the walls. "I'm a fairy. We're a peaceful race, we don't think about war."

"But you are really smart." Roland said, tugging a little harder. "You seem to know a lot about…this stuff. How to fight. The Re-Deads. Why do you know so much?"

Navi didn't answer at first, and stared at the same patch of dirt for a minute, and then floated over to another cage.

"I was different." She replied eventually, regarding the bars. "I learnt some things along the way. It's a scary world out there."

Roland was silent. "I wouldn't know." He said quietly. "I don't remember the world. But I think it's less scary when you're with someone."

"What was that?" Navi asked distractedly, and then there was the sound of sliding metal and the bars in front of her began to move.

She jumped backwards, cart-wheeling away from the bars in astonishment. Roland, too, jumped back, loosening his grip on the sword hilt. The bars rose slowly, and with them rose the Re-Dead they housed. It looked around blankly for a moment, and then rested on them.

"What did you do Roland!" Navi shouted. "Shut the cage!"

The Re-Dead took a step forward and the bars were raised a little higher. Navi turned to Roland and saw he was grappling with one of the swords that were plunged into the ground.

"What are you doing with that?" she asked. "We need to shut the cage!"

There was another sliding sound, and then the sword Roland was grappling with fell into the ground. The cage instantly stopped its slow rise. Navi and Roland watched with relief as the bars slowly began to descend, and the Re-Dead was once again trapped in its steady prison. As slowly as it had risen it began to sit down again, head in hands, and moaned quietly once more.

Navi regarded Roland curiously. "Okay. What did you do?"

"I just moved the sword." He said, gesturing to the hilt in front of him. Navi flew over to get a better look.

"Maybe they're not swords." She said eventually, the idea dawning on her. "Maybe they're levers."

Roland looked around at the other swords, then bit his lip and looked up at the cage that housed the only escape route.

"If they're all levers…" he began. "Which one is the one we need?"
Navi blinked. That was a good point. Which lever would be the one that opened the door? There were absolutely no symbols in the room to help them, and not a single marking on any of the swords.

"We may just have to try them." she said unsteadily, already regretting the words that were coming out of her mouth. Roland shook his head and pulled out the flute from his bag.

"Let's try Koti first." He said, and put the flute to his lips. He played the song, and they waited. Nothing. They waited a little longer, and then Navi remembered the fighting outside.

"He's fighting the Stalfos." She voiced aloud. "We're on our own."

The two stared at each other for a while, each debating what they should do, each not daring to say what they had to do. But the reality was in front of them…they had four cages, five swords and not a lot of time to debate what should be done. It was Navi who eventually flew over to another sword and said, "Let's try this one. Maybe we'll get lucky."

Roland hesitantly walked over and placed his hand on the hilt. It was a Kokiri sword, small and feeble compared to the weight and power of the Ikana swords. He looked at Navi, almost to make sure he was doing the right thing, and then pulled.

There was the sound of clicking gears, and then the door behind the cage opened. Roland and Navi both let out a sigh of relief.

"Okay…" Roland walked over to another one on the left. "Let's try this sword."

The next one was a Hylian blade, the tallest of each of the swords. Roland carefully took hold of it, and then plunged it downwards. Another clicking of gears, and then the cage behind them began to open. The Re-Dead in side looked up, and began to rise off the floor.

"Okay Roland, pull it up!" Navi warned. Roland grabbed the sword again and pulled, but then his face turned pale when it didn't move. He tugged it again, but it wouldn't budge.

"Navi! I can't move it!" he whimpered, tugging again. The bars had already reached the half way mark by now…the Re-Dead waited on the other side patiently.

"Navi!" Roland shouted again, struggling with the sword. "Help me!"

Navi flew over to his bag. "Roland, you've got to use your flute. Take it out and play the Sun song."

Roland let go of the sword and reached into his bag, but just at that moment the Re-Dead let out an ear-splitting scream. Navi blocked her ears and shut her eyes tightly, and when she opened them Roland was frozen to the spot, his hands halfway into his bag and a look of pure terror written across his face. His eyes were the only thing that moved…they darted between Navi and the Re-Dead, who had just begun advancing on them slowly but purposefully.

Now it was Navi's turn to rummage through her bag. She pulled out her own ocarina and tried to remember the Sun song, but kept fumbling with the notes in her panic. The Re-Dead came closer and closer, and Navi only managed to get worse and worse. Roland suddenly broke free of his binding spell…he jerked, and then laid eyes upon the Re-Dead behind him.

"Navi!" he screamed, and then the Re-Dead jumped on him.

There wasn't a scream, a groan, not a single sound. The Re-Dead just jumped, gripped Roland by the shoulders and then opened his mouth and bit Roland by the neck. There was a faint sucking noise, and then Roland began to jerk around manically, making little stuttering noises with each breath. Navi watched as he grew paler and paler while the Re-Dead sucked away at his life, gnawing hungrily at the poor boy as a dog at a piece of meat. Navi forced herself to look away, to concentrate, and her fingers flew across the ocarina's smooth surface until, finally, the Sun song rung through the air and the magic set itself in motion.

The Re-Dead instantly stopped…it fell off Roland and scrabbled around on the ground, almost like something inside it had stopped working but it wasn't sure what. Navi was surprised…that wasn't what it was normally supposed to do. The Re-Dead seemed to be having trouble getting up…it wriggled on the ground like a fish out of water, struggling to get each of it's limbs working so it could continue to feast. Navi instantly shot to Roland, who was only just standing. He wobbled a little where he stood, hand still in his bag.

"Get your flute and play the same song." Navi told him, flying over to the bag. "Quickly! While it's still struggling!"

Roland seemed to snap out of his daze at that point…he grabbed his flute from out of his bag, brought it to his lips and blew. Once again, the Sun song rang out, more powerful than the last time, and there was an electric sound beside them. The Re-Dead had frozen in its place, arms and legs outstretched to reach for them again, to taste the life that Roland still had inside him. Roland didn't need any more prompting…he pulled out his sword and brought it down on the monster with a great thud. It twitched, groaned, and then just lay still where it had fallen.

There was a brief pause, and then Roland sheathed his sword. Navi flew in front of his face and watched him worriedly.

"Roland?" she said quietly. "Are you okay?"

Roland blinked, but didn't say anything. He merely turned to the swords again and pointed to the nearest one.

"Let's start again." He said blankly, "This one might be…"

Suddenly, he paused mid sentence. A look of surprise and then frustration flashed across his face, and he turned to Navi and gestured furiously at the swords.

"Navi!" he exclaimed, pointing, "They're different lengths!"

Navi peered over his shoulder and nodded, "Yes, I know that. But what…"

"Navi, we started with that one over there, right? That was the shortest one. It was that cage there. Then we moved to that one, which was that cage there. The last one we tried was the biggest, and it was that cage."

Navi followed Roland's finger, and then it slowly dawned on her. She groaned and slapped her palm against her forehead.

The swords were different lengths. The shortest sword was at the other side of the room, and the biggest was behind them. It went in an anti-clockwise circle around the room. If they had just stopped and looked…

I can't believe this. Navi thought to herself. I can't believe I was so stupid.

The two companions both turned to the cage with the door, each trying to guess the height of the next sword. They both rested upon an Ikana sword, which was dug about halfway into the dirt. Without a word, Roland walked over to the blade and slowly lifted it up. The cage began to rise, and the door behind it was freed.

"Yes!" Navi cried happily, instantly flying over. "Let's go!"

It wasn't until she reached the door that she realized Roland wasn't following. She turned to him, still holding the sword hilt, and gestured him over.

"Come on!" she said. "This way!"

Roland still didn't budge. He was looking down at the Re-Dead curiously, and Navi soon saw why. It had become transparent as it began to return to whatever place it had come from, and through its wrinkled skin Navi could see something gold and shiny.

"Is that a key?" Roland asked, tilting his head. They waited for the body to completely disappear, and then Roland picked it up and studied it.

"It is a key!" he said, pocketing it. "Maybe we'll be able to use that later."

Navi nodded. "Right. Now let's go!" she encouraged him, anxious to leave the room and the Re-Deads in peace. But once again Roland didn't move. He turned his head to the floor once again, where the monster had just been, and then gulped.

"It was horrible Navi." He whimpered. "I was…and then it…it was cold. I could feel it ripping my life away. It wasn't going to stop. It was a person, Navi. How could a person do that…?"

He trailed off, and the sentence seemed to hang in the air before them for a long time, long after Roland had opened the door and they left the Re-Deads far behind.