Chapter 6

Aaron knew they had somehow come to the final room before Kelgoran. He saw soldiers milling around in front of them. They didn't know what Mallard had cooked up. "Get the bombs out," he muttered. All three of them took some. "Twenty bombs. Make good use of 'em," Aaron said. They lit the fuses. Three bombs were suddenly chucked into the ranks of the soldiers. Havoc ensued, in which Aaron whipped out his bow and started shooting while bombs rained everywhere. Men were cutting down their own comrades, thinking they were the culprits. Soon half the force was gone. Twenty-five remained. Aaron muttered to himself. "I've only got five more arrows, which I don't want to waste, and we don't have anything else, man, and-" "Farore's Wind," Mallard said. "What?" Nabooru asked. "Farore's Wind. We need to use it," he said. "That lady must've-" "Aaron, Mallard knows what he's talking about. I think I do too. You saw the green flash of light, Aaron," Nabooru said. And then Aaron knew. But that wasn't the time to think about it. Mallard took the Farore's Wind crystal and cast it. Suddenly a green light was cast over the area. The other guards were suddenly frozen. "Now I know. Let's go!" Aaron said, seeing a door and rushing into it. The other two followed. They rushed into a chamber. The door closed behind them. Mallard could hear low voices talking, but the other two couldn't. As their eyes adjusted to the dark, Aaron could see two large chairs at the top of a staircase, and they were in a dark chamber. Strangely, fog was rolling over the ground. "You have come!" a voice said, echoing through all the halls and chambers of the castle. Aaron glared. "That's right and I've come to rescue Malon!" he said fiercely. A deep chuckle resounded. "Malon.....is no longer with us," another voice, female, said. Aaron strained to hear it again. "Marin.....say hello to your, shall we say, former acquaintance?" the male voice said. A chair turned around. Kelgoran sat in it, grinning ear to ear. The other chair turned around. The three could see a dress swinging as it turned. Aaron took a step closer. He still couldn't see, so he took a step closer. He walked up the stairs, and now saw the figure was hooded. Was that a strand of red hair? He was now nearly within range to touch the person if he wanted. He slowly pulled the hood off. "Shut up or ship out, Aaron," the person said. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Aaron screamed. Mallard saw Kelgoran start laughing like the devil and Malon looking smugly at him. "You see? All your world is coming down around your ears!" Kelgoran chuckled. "Please....I'll do anything..." Aaron sobbed. "Well then.....you must fight my three, eh, emissaries, in battle. Agreed?" he asked. Aaron nodded his head. Mallard and Nabooru were suddenly teleported up to where Kelgoran and Malon were. They couldn't move. Aaron slowly walked back down the staircase. "Root for me, huh, Malon?" he smiled weakly. "Humor won't get you out of this," she said. "Well, at least you didn't say-" "Honey," "AARRGH!" Aaron shouted. This almost seemed too easy. He saw a door starting to open. There seemed to be a midget there with the other two. A moment later Saria stepped out. Then Impa. Then Zelda. Aaron looked at them. "You're just in time, girls! You see, three of his 'emissaries' as he calls 'em, are going to be-" A magic beam whizzed by his ear. He noticed Saria and Impa edging to both of his sides. Soon he was caught in a triangle. Zelda looked at him. He looked at her. "Oh, now I get it. This is bad. Zelda....I never thought I'd be saying this, but for once I wish you were by me," he said. He felt two magic beams slam into his back. He moaned and fell to the ground. "This is for all the times you ever made Link feel like a jerk," Saria said. She raised her hands. "This is for attacking Zelda years ago," Impa said. She raised her hands. "This is for all the times and people that you've victimized over the years...." Zelda chuckled slowly. She raised her hands. Aaron looked slowly up at the ceiling and realized it was turning colors. But that wasn't the ceiling, was it? he thought. He realized light was emanating from the three Sages. And it was forming into some sort of web-like structure. He tried to roll away but a forcefield was keeping him in. "Zelda, you know you shouldn't be doing this. You know it's wrong," he said. "Oh no? What about seven years ago, when you nearly killed me? This will avenge us!" she said. Aaron almost shook his head in pity. "Two wrongs don't make a right," he replied. "But Aaron, don't you see? By doing this we free Link of a parasite that's been eating away at him!" Saria hissed. Impa simply stared. "But Saria..." Aaron said, standing up. "....you know that by doing this, Link will lose one of his greatest friends. You know I'm not a parasite, and I tried to help you when....you-know-who attacked you on Death Mountain. Verbally, mind you," he said. The green beam weakened. "Saria, you know this isn't right. Remember those times in the village?" he said, of course not knowing a thing about them, but he knew this would work to some extent. Saria closed her eyes and tried to block the memories, but she couldn't hold them back. The green beam fluctuated. Saria fell to the ground, but now Zelda supported the green beam. Aaron simply laid a hand on Impa's shoulder and gazed into her eyes. He sensed a tear almost coming out. He grabbed both her shoulders. Impa tried to look away, but she couldn't. She buried her head into Aaron. He let her fall to the ground and turned to Zelda. Zelda held her ground. "Zelda, do you think what you are doing is right?" she asked. Zelda nodded readily. She started to charge up a ball of magic. "You know this, Zelda..." Aaron muttered. She made the ball bigger. He got closer. "Your heart knows it isn't," Aaron said. "I have no HEART!" she shouted, throwing the magic ball at him. But Aaron by now was almost face-to-face with her, and he swung around and caught her arm, angling it so it fired toward Kelgoran. Kelgoran had no time to react. It slammed into him. Zelda cried out pitifully and slumped to the ground, giving Aaron a final look. Aaron was now ready to face Kelgoran. But Kelgoran was down, and Malon looked dazed. Aaron dashed up and was about to grab Malon by the arm when Kelgoran leapt up and grabbed him by the throat. Aaron started to gasp for air. "You know what will happen to your pitiful friends if I am defeated? They will wither away into nothingness, and then, I shall have accomplished my objective! Remember the old saying, if you can't beat them, kill them!" Kelgoran said. Aaron winced at this gruesome rendition of the old saying and then realized that he had two choices: one, to believe that Kelgoran was telling the truth and he should bargain for his three friends lives, or two: believe that Kelgoran was lying and attack him. He chose the latter. With all his strength he plowed into Kelgoran, driving him backwards. His sword upraised, Aaron attacked. Kelgoran had no defense against Aaron, and the sword struck a blow time and time again. Finally Kelgoran was so weak he could not move. "I...shall release the Sages....on one condition..." he muttered. Aaron kept his sword at the ready. "What?" he asked. "That....Marin.....Malon....stays mine..." Kelgoran muttered. Aaron snarled. "If that is your answer, then....strike true, friend. Strike well..." Kelgoran muttered. Though Aaron knew he would go, he decided to grant Kelgoran's wish to die early. Aaron had never wanted to kill anyone, much less in cold blood. But he didn't want to refuse this dying sorcerer's....man's last request. He readied his sword. Down it went. Aaron saw Kelgoran briefly smile, then close his eyes. He sheathed his sword. Mallard and Nabooru were freed. Malon slowly sank down to the floor. Aaron knelt down by her. She was hardly breathing. "Did he mean what he said about the Sages dying? And....Malon?" Mallard asked. "I don't know for sure," Aaron muttered. Suddenly Malon yawned and opened her eyes. "Zelda, congratulations on getting married..." she muttered. "Apparently being released out of an spell causes flashbacks," Nabooru said. "She went into that spell at the reception!" Aaron said. "You're.....so lucky...to be married...to Link...." Malon mumbled. "Yeah, I am," someone said. Zelda was sitting by Malon all of a sudden. "Wait a minute, I thought you were dead!" Aaron cried. "Dead? Excuse me?" Zelda grinned. Malon sat up and got on her feet. Aaron hugged her. Suddenly he realized that he wasn't hugging Malon. He was hugging someone in a green tunic. A low chuckle echoed through the hall. Again. Aaron pulled back. "Link?" he gasped. "No," Zelda muttered. Aaron realized who it was. "As you can see, Aaron, Z-aaah!" Nakil cried, stumbling back. Aaron followed up his punch with a right hook and then a cross. Nakil fell to the ground. However, he managed to get up and took Aaron by the arm. Aaron wrenched free but then found his other arm locked in Nakil's grip. Nakil swung him over the edge of the staircase. Aaron would have plummeted to the ground had it not been for the banister. He grabbed onto it. Nakil grinned as his foe stared up at him. "Aaron, your friend would have reached over the edge to help you. However, I'm going to grab your sword (he did so rather forcefully) and prevent you from bothering me again!" he said. "Always was eloquent to an annoying level, always will be," Aaron chuckled. He knew that Nakil had the sword. He braced for impact. But it never came. Instead, all four Sages and Mallard were holding the sword up to Nakil. "Two men in one day, wow!" Mallard muttered. "I don't have the slightest idea what you're talking about!" Impa muttered. Suddenly Nakil pushed them all over and grabbed the sword. He advanced toward Aaron. Aaron had been swinging around, trying to gain enough momentum to get up onto the stairs. He looked at Nakil and swung with double the energy. Suddenly a flying tackle by a yellow-orange thing brought Nakil down. Blue and yellow beams started holding him. "Darunia, give me a hand here," Aaron shouted. Darunia pulled Aaron up and looked at Nakil. "You have me now....if there was ever a time I needed Father, it's now," he muttered. Aaron looked at him. "Now look here! Where's Malon?" he growled, throughly tired of all this. Nakil grinned. "Ah, Malon. I've taken the liberty of placing her down in the valley for....security reasons," he said. "Security reasons, pah! I've enough sense to give you a good sharp-" "Aaron! We need a few Sages to go back with Nakil to the castle. I'll be one of them," Impa said. "To the castle?" Zelda cried. "Yes, we do not have the resources to seal him in the Dark World, which I would very much like to do. So I need two others to come with me," Impa said. "I'll go," Ruto said. "And I," said Rauru. "Okay, get ready to transport Nakil back. Now!" Impa said. They disappeared, then energy wrapped around Nakil and he disappeared as well. "Dang! Now we have to go trucking around the valley to find her," Aaron grumped. "Cheer up lad. Has, eh, anyone forgotten that we've got a spying mission to go on?" Darunia chuckled. The other Sages looked at each other. "Spying? I love spying! I'm the best at spying! I'm so good at spying I'm great!" Aaron shouted. "But first we find Malon," Nabooru said. "Of course," replied Aaron. "Wait a minute. What about Paul?" Saria asked. "I'm betting he'll be down in the valley too," Aaron

After Aaron and Mallard had said good-bye to all the Cybors and told them they were free to go anywhere they wanted, they searched outside the castle and found a path leading straight down to the valley. "Shouldn't be molested now!" Mallard said, smiling now that he could finally breath some fresh air. "No, probably not," Zelda replied. They walked down the path and were very surprised to find themselves in the valley. There was Calornarn sitting in the valley, but that was all, and perhaps the city wasn't even called Calornarn, as that (I personally did not know what that was when I thought about, perhaps a simulation, whatever you think of will do here) man had not been real, at least that was what Aaron, Nabooru, and Mallard thought. The others of course had their experiences to tell about, so it became quite fun walking down that narrow, if not dangerous, path though the town was miles away. Before they knew it they were just yards away from the gate, though very tired. They walked into the city. As they walked in a certain kind of magical feeling came over them. Though they didn't know what it was or what it could or would do, so they inquired around for an inn. They found it and walked in. "Hello there, travelers! What can I do for you?" the proprietor asked. "We'd like a room, please," Zelda said. "A room? Well I can get that for you well enough. You can sleep in room 11," the man said. The others nodded and smiled, a bit stupidly, and went to their room. Zelda flopped down onto the bed, as did Saria and Nabooru. Darunia, Aaron, and Mallard looked at them suspiciously. "Do you get the feeling this people are too happy?" Darunia asked. "Zelda is always too much of what she's feeling. She's always too happy, sad, annoyed, you get my point," Aaron said. "No no no! I mean, you saw those villagers! They all had smiles plastered on them. Does that seem....normal?" Darunia asked. "Well, what if they knew Kelgoran was gone?" Aaron shot. "It hasn't been that long since we killed him. I don't think they'd know," Mallard interjected. The other two nodded. Zelda was chattering away excitedly about something that even I don't know, and Saria....well, Saria was acting weird. Nabooru was looking at the other two like they were crazy, but starting to act the same way. "Darunia, maybe we'd better leave you here while we go get Malon and Paul," Aaron said, shaking his head to dispel the weird feeling that was coming over it. Mallard did the same and pulled him out of the room. The proprietor grinned at them as they went out. "Going so soon?" he chuckled. Mallard glared, as did Aaron. "Going to find a friend of ours!" they said. The proprietor shrugged and went back to smiling. As they emerged into the streets, Aaron looked frantically around for red hair. There was lots of red hair. Too much. They decided to split up to look for Malon and Paul. Mallard went one way, Aaron went the other.

Mallard desperately looked around. This was not good. He knew this place was doing something to the three...er, women, and that this was probably Nakil's fault. He didn't know what the heck the relation was between Kelgoran and Nakil, but it was powerful and evil enough to cause this, obviously. This was not good. He hoped Aaron would be able to drag Malon out of this mess before it took them all. He suddenly saw a wave of familiar blond hair. "If that isn't Link then I'd say it's....not an illusion, it's Paul!" he shouted. He bulled through the crowd. Paul almost sensed Mallard was behind him. He turned around. A brief flash of recognition in his eyes happened before Mallard dragged him into a side alley (you see, Paul had met Mallard before on other boat trips and Mallard had gotten to be friends with him). He was put up against the wall after they had gone a considerable distance into it, perhaps fifty feet. "Kid, we gotta get you home before this place permanently destroys your sense of-" "Mallard! I'm fine! Don't worry..." Paul replied. "You actually remember me!" Mallard said. "Well, yes, I do. Why wouldn't I?" Paul asked, a bit puzzled. "Oh, sorry, Paul. I think I'd better start from the beginning. Well, you see, it all started when we destroyed Kelgoran, see, and-" "You beat him? Well that's good!" Paul interrupted. "Paul, you can tell me your story later. Well, we destroyed him, and then we find who we think is Malon," continued Mallard. Paul got a look on his face. Mallard looked at him. "Well, you see, it wasn't, it was this guy named Nakil," he said. That got Paul listening. "Well, we get him after a quick fight, and then he tells us Malon is down here in the valley. Aaron-" "Wait. Who's Aaron?" Paul asked. "That's one of my other friends. Well, Aaron decides that since we didn't meet up with you in the castle, then you should be down here. We all march down here. And then Zelda, Nabooru, and Saria start acting weird. And I'm feeling a bit light-headed myself. Everyone else is. So that's our story, Paul. Do you have anything to add?" Mallard asked. Paul nodded. "Two things. First, there's some sort of magic over this place. I don't know whether it comes because of Kelgoran, this Nakil person, or what, but it can't be good," Paul said. "And the other thing?" Mallard asked. "How do you describe this Malon?" Paul nervously asked. "Oh, uh, red hair, blue eyes, used to be a farm girl, very....ahem, cute, and she's got a bit of a temper sometimes. But, on the whole, she's a very nice person. You might have heard of her some time ago," Mallard said. Paul groaned suddenly. Mallard saw. "Your friend just described me, honey!" Malon said. She had suddenly swept in from nowhere. "I was afraid of that...." Paul moaned. Malon snuggled into him. "Remember we were going to have dinner tonight?" she purred. Paul looked at her helplessly. "Eh, Malon, would you mind if you and your "boyfriend" move over into the inn where I'm staying? For tonight?" Mallard asked, instantly catching on. Malon had eventually been put here by Nakil, or Kelgoran, whoever was more powerful, and had been stripped of whatever powers she had had at the wedding reception. Though they didn't know that for sure yet, and for all Mallard knew, Malon may just be playing along with Paul. However, he preferred to think that all Malon was for now was a lovesick girl who didn't know better. Aaron wouldn't be happy though. Oh well. Small price to pay. Malon agreed to going to the inn, and, while staying close to Paul, walked along. Mallard kep a close eye on those two. Paul seemed embarrassed yet strangely happy in a way. He probably just knew that this definitely would not last and he should soak it all up while he could. Though he would have to seperate from her when they got back to the inn. Finally they got back to the inn and pulled her inn (joke). The proprietor peered over his glasses as they rushed in. They tried to open the door. It was locked. Mallard and Paul both kicked it in. Malon didn't understand what all the ruckus was. "What's going on, is someone in trouble? Oh, I hope no one was murdered!" she asked. "Someone IS going to be murdered if they don't be quiet!" Mallard muttered. Malon got the hint. "But I haven't talked three sentences!" she said. "That makes it four!" Paul said. His "girlfriend" kept her mouth shut. "Did I mention good common sense?" Mallard chuckled as they gazed about the room. No one was there. But then they heard a low groan. Paul drew his sword while Mallard charged into the room. He opened the closet. Darunia was in it. "Mallard...you're here," he said. "Yes, what happened?" Mallard asked. The Goron sighed. "Zelda and the other two have...escaped, and I think this air is doing something to them....don't know what, but it's doing...something," he said. "I've brought Paul and Malon," Mallard said. "You have? Good man," Darunia said. "I'd expect you to be a bit more out of breath," his friend said. "This was about a half...hour ago, so I'm pretty much back into action. Though my breath...hasn't...quite..come back," Darunia chuckled. Just then they heard a crash downstairs. Someone pounded down the hall. "Heyyyyyyyyyy!" Aaron called, skidding into the bedroom by grabbing the doorframe as he flew down the hallway. Malon and the rest looked at him. Aaron lay down on the bed and panted for breath. Everyone else continued to look at him. "Honestly, Aaron, sometimes I think you need to be in a medical hospital!" Darunia said, propping himself up on one huge elbow. "No..........I don't.......Z...Z...Z..Z...." "Zelda?" Mallard prompted. Aaron nodded. "Sh...sh...sh..SHE is down at the local market with the other two..........acting very weird. They're conversing with people...and one of them....looks shady," Aaron panted. The others looked at each other. "Our lives are getting weirder by the hour," Paul said. "Very," Mallard agreed. Aaron suddenly saw Malon. "Malon...that you?" he asked. Malon took a step back. "Oh..I get it...Nakil....he...did it," Aaron said. He suddenly started snoring. "The man deserves it," Mallard chuckled. "Certainly does. So that's Aaron?" Paul replied. "Yes, he is," Mallard sighed. Darunia managed to get up. "Well...now I'm not the one in this room who's...short of breath!" he chuckled. "I wouldn't count on that," Paul replied.

After Aaron had awakened and contentedly chuckled over Malon, he told his story. "Well, er, I was searching around for Paul and Malon, and then suddenly a villager comes up and asks me if I was one of those newcomers in town. I said yes and then he said something about initiating us into the town. I tried to be polite but I started feeling very strange. Then I see this sort of explosion happen over at the hotel. Not really an explosion, but something like a bright light. Fireworks. You get the idea, you know, bright lights that go-" "All right, Aaron," Mallard said. Aaron smiled. "Anyhow, no one else saw it, that's what I think. No one saw anything out of the ordinary. Suddenly I see these three guys running toward me. They're saying something like, "They have come, they have come!" Then I see our three Sagely friends walking towards me. One of the men that had shouted the French-eh, the Sages were coming looked sort of shady, like I said before. Then they start talking. The villagers suddenly crowd around them and start talking. Then they started bowing down to them. I think we've got our second case of mind-control," Aaron said. "But why in the Triforce is this mind-control stuff going on?" Paul asked. "Seems to be the order of the day!" Darunia said, breathing very easily. "Link's twin seems to have taught Kelgoran some lessons," Aaron said. "Well, whatever he did, it can't be good. Let's get down to the market and see what's going on," Mallard said. "Yes, let's," Aaron said. Malon had been standing there all this time. "It seems to me that the Three have returned," she said. "Not more legend!" everyone else groaned. "The Three, long ago, made peace in Sarnilia. Then, The Dark Lord came. He turned it into a wasteland. But the Three banished him, but could not fully restore the island. A part of it remained in The Dark Lord's power. And it was said when the Three came again, that the island would be fully restored to its original glory," Malon said. "And what was the name of the Dark Lord?" Aaron asked. "No one knows his real name, but it is said that the name of his embodiment was Kelgoran, and then there is someone in a green tunic that's mentioned in the stories. But no one knows his name either," Malon replied. "What was the name of the Three?" Mallard asked. "Din, Farore, and Nayru," Aaron's wife replied. "What?!" the others cried. Darunia looked at all of them. "Gentlemen, we have a serious matter on our hands. I suggest that we get down to the market immediately," he said. The others stood stock-still. "You are sure, Malon?" Paul asked. She nodded. "Well then, let's go!" Aaron said. They rushed out of the door. For the first time, the proprietor had something other than a smile on his face. "Er.....are you folks in trouble with the law?" he asked. "That's a bit of a stupid question to ask," Aaron said to himself. "I believe they would be taken to that temple down the street!" Malon said, pointing to a barely-visible temple a long way down the street. "Why would they be called Din, Farore, and Nayru?" Mallard said to Darunia. "I think it is a case of two cultures mixing together. Some of the people on this island are Hylian. Actually, the majority is, but you get the idea," said Darunia. "Yes, I believe I do," Mallard said back. By this time they were getting closer. Aaron looked at Malon. "Well, I'd expect reunion to be a bit more exciting, but who can blame us for meddling in other people's affairs?" he asked. He suddenly realized Malon was walking a bit closer to him then she should unless....they were now at the temple, so Aaron had no time to worry about whether she was suddenly falling in love with him or she actually remembered. They charged in. Aaron stopped dead in his tracks. Mallard almost started crying. Paul thought it was the strangest thing he had ever seen.

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